Himalayan Times (1962)

Six

Himalayan Times February 18, 1962

PROGRESS OF CO-OPERATIVE MARKETING

Significant Increase in Turnover

Co-operative marketing
occupies a pivotal posi-
tion io the programme of
cooperative development.
To a farmer, proper mar-
keting of hie produce it
a matter of oruoial impor-
tance. Under the prevail,
ling market conditions,
ha is liable to suffer from
a number of inalpraotioft
whioh vitiate the working
of the agricultural markets.
Cooperative marketing oan
help to minimise, if not
entirely eliminate, such
malpractice.

Development of co-
operative marketing ean
also reduoe the spread
between the price paid
by the consumer and the
producer. In several com-
modities, such pric.e spread
is quite substantial.

Cooperative marketing
when oarried out on an
adequate scale, oan also
make a valuable contri-
bution to the stabilisation
of prices. In the integrated
scheme of cooperative
development that-is being
oarried out. in India, co-
operative marketing hat
a particularly crucial role.
The effectiveness of co-
operative credit ean be
enhanced by cooperative
marketing sooieties by
ensuring a better return
for the produoe raised

by the farmer after taking
loans from cooperative
source. Cooperative mar-
keting tooietiet oan alto
facilitate timely return of
loans and thereby help in
the expansion of the coops-
erative oredit programme.

Marketing societies have
also a vital role in regard
to supply and distribution
of production requisites.

Compared to coope-
rative credit, however,
cooperative marketing it
a more recent activity.
During the period preced-
ing the oommenoement of
the Second Plan, only a
few sporadic attempt! in
this direction had been
made. In the Firtt Five
Year Plan, the need for
development of coopera-
tive marketing tide by tide
with cooperative oredit
was emphasised, but no
speoifio targets in thit
regard were laid down.
It was only in the begin-
ning of the Second Plan
that emphasis was laid
on the development of
cooperative .marketing.

The Second Five Year
Plan envitaged the estab-
lishment of 180 primary
marketing tooietiet and.
an apex marketing society
in each State. Against
thit target, nearly 1900
marketing tooietitt have

been established and affi-
liated to various apex
marketing tooietiet at the
State level. In addition,
there are tpeoial tooietiet
dealing with tpeeifiq.com-
moditet, such attugaroane
and eotton.

During raoent yean,
there hat been a significant
inoreate in the turn-over
of oooperative marketing
tooietiet at various levelt.
During the oooperative
year ending June, 1060,
the value of sales handled
by primary and central
marketing societies-nearly
Rs. 200 orortt thowed an
aimott 100 per cent in
oreate over the correspon-
ding figure for the prece-
ding oooperative year.
Among the principal agri-
cultural crops handled by
cooperatives were cotton,
sugarcane and foodgraint.
Theee respectively account-
ed for sales of the order of
nearly Re. 17 eroret, Rs.
86 ororet and Rs. 27 ororet.

The progress made in
the field of cooperative
marketing in reoent yean
hat been rather uneven.
Six of the State, namely
Maharastra, Uttar Pra-
desh, Punjab, Gujrat,
Madras and Mysore have
accounted over 80 per
cent of the sales under-
taken by markting nooie-
tiet of different kindt.
Of these ctatet, Uttar
Pradesh hat made re-
markable progress in the
oooperative marketing of