Agricultural marketing

TRANSPORTATION: 
Transportation or the movement of products between places is one of the most 
important marketing functions at every stage, i.e., right from the threshing floor to the 
point of consumption. Most of the goods are not consumed where they are produced.
All agricultural commodities have to be brought from the farm to the local market and 
from there to primary wholesale markets, secondary wholesale markets, retail markets 
and ultimately to the consumers. The inputs from the factories must be taken to the 
warehouses and from the warehouses to the wholesalers, retailers and finally to the 
consumers(farmers). Transportation adds the place utility to goods. 
Transport is an indispensable marketing function. Its importance has increased with 
urbanization. For the development of trade in any commodity or in any area transport 
is a sine qua non. Trade and transport go side by side; the one reinforces and 
strengthens the other. 
Advantages of Transport Function: 
The main advantages of the transport function are: 
1. Widening of the Market: Transport helps in the development or widening of 
markets by bridging the gap between the producers and consumers located in 

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different areas. Without transport, the markets would have mainly been local 
markets. The exchange of goods between different districts, regions or countries 
would be impossible in the absence of this function. The example is the market 
for Himachal or Kashmir apples. The producers are located mainly in Himachal 
Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir; but apples are consumed throughout the country. 
2. Narrowing Price Difference Over Space: The transportation of goods from 
surplus areas to the places of scarcity helps in checking price rises in the scarcity 
areas and price falls in surplus areas thus reduces the spatial differences in prices.