Analysis of Marketing Pattern of Arecanut Grower in East Garo Hills District, Meghalaya.

Arecanut (Areca catechu L) is one of the important cash crops in India and ranks first in terms of both area and production of arecanut in world. Meghalaya holds 4th position in the production of arecanut in India producing 51,000 tonnes in 2019. The total of 200 samples was selected for the study. The marketing channels were identified based on various intermediaries involved in the marketing process. A total of 4 marketing channels found in the study area of which Channel II (Producer - Village Trader - Whole seller - Consumer) was the most effective channel for marketing arecanut, accounting for nearly 40% of the total marketed quantity. In terms of marketing margin earned by the different marketing channel, channel III was found to be earned the highest marketing margin consists of the marketing margin earned by the wholesaler, village traders and retailer. The Producers share in Consumer's Rupee (%) was found to be highest in Channel I. The study of arecanut marketing channels offers valuable lessons for the broader agricultural sector, suggesting pathways to enhance producer income, reduce marketing costs, and improve the overall efficiency of agricultural marketing systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]