SPATIAL INTEGRATION AMONG MAJOR WHOLESALE MARKETS OF PIGEONPEA AND CHICKPEA IN ANDHRA PRADESH

India is the largest producer and consumer of pulses in the world. Andhra Pradesh is one of the major contributors for pulses in India with pigeonpea and chickpea as the major pulse crops grown in the state. To provide goods at reasonable prices to the innumerable consumers as well as to provide remunerative prices of the produce to the farmer-sellers, efficient functioning of markets is an essential prerequisite which is indicated by high degree of integration in them. Thus an attempt has been made to study the spatial market integration among major wholesale markets for pigeonpea and chickpea in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Zero order correlation matrixes were used to identify the extent of spatial market integration. In case of pigeonpea, Khammam-Suryapet (0.824) markets reported maximum level of integration. Though all the selected market pairs had positive relationship four out of six selected market pairs showed significant relationship. Market integration for chickpea was more in case of MedakKarimnagar (0.666) markets. Market integration was affected negatively by the distance between markets because the greater the distance between two markets, the more costly it was to undertake trade, and thus opportunities with closer markets were explored. Negative association between arrivals and prices was observed for the commodities as heavy arrivals led to depression of prices especially during peak months after harvest.