Analysis of Domestic Goods Transport and Logistics Dynamics within the Agricultural Supply Chain in Pakistan

Abstract

For adequate farm management and an efficient value chain approach, properly managed transportation is the key element. Transport plays a very important role in every industry, including agriculture. In Pakistan fruit and vegetables are being transported to the city centers, i.e., Fruit and Vegetable Markets every day from the remote/rural area and sometimes from the other provinces, where it is sold out through the process of open auction. Hence, transportation also plays an important role in the competitive prices of fruit and vegetable commodities. A slight delay in the commodities in the market distorts the supply/arrival in the market and causes price fluctuations. Therefore, it is imperative to explore the relationships/role of transporters with the other stakeholders of the value chain. Another aspect of the study was to highlight the issues of post-harvest losses because it is reported in the literature that almost 25-30 percent of post-harvest losses occurred in fruit and vegetables. Therefore, it is again needed to explore the quality of transportation facilities. For the reasons recorded above the said study was carried out using – at first, a desk review and secondary sources about the overview of the sector. Secondly, to delve into the highlighted issue a field survey was carried out in the seven major Markets of Punjab. A sample of at least three and the maximum transport companies was interviewed. The results of the Logistic Performance Index (LPI) showed that Pakistan is only above Afghanistan in the region stating the poor condition and it is ranked 122 out of 160 countries in the International LPI results. The results of the field survey showed that in the agriculture supply chain, only 1% of reefers were used during transportation, and most of the transport facilities were traditional trucks. It was found that the transportation sector is governed by the commission agents indicating manipulation of the supplies in the market for price determination. The results of the study showed interesting facts to be noted by the policymakers that can support the development of the industry in Punjab and enhance the overall productivity and profitability of the agricultural sector in Pakistan.