Ethical issues in un-organized market for fruits and vegetables in Mysore district

Abstract

Markets for fresh Fruits and vegetables in India are mainly characterized as unorganized markets. Most farmers either willingly or forcefully sell away fresh fruits and vegetables at the farmyard or in the unorganized market. Lack of marketing knowledge, inability in time management, timidness in moving forward into the advanced world, working capital crunches, domestic compulsions, absence of proper logistic arrangements, poor storage facilities, and social stigma influence the farmers in disposing of fruits and vegetables grown by them in the unorganized markets. Heavy price fluctuations either act as a boon sometimes or bane other times. Further, the deceptive practices of intermediaries add to the woes of farmers. Charging high commissions, improper weighing, and irregular payments are important deceptive practices of middlemen. The farmers get elated when prices shoot up and dishearten when prices crash. The incidences of throwing vegetables on the street when the prices get down to the nadir and getting back to the villages cursing by the farmers are often reported. Lacking market intelligentsia is affecting gullible farmers very much. Ninety-nine percent of the businesses are in the unorganized sector, and reports suggest they are declining. The divergence between the two sectors is visible. The head of the largest luggage manufacturer recently said their growth is surging because the smaller units are not doing well. The rules of economic gains enable the organized sector to corner most of the development gains. The marginalized sections are expected to be satisfied with their meager material gains. Secondary data is used to collect the data, and the study is focused only on Ethical issues in Unorganized markets for fruits and vegetables in Mysore District.