CASE Time Sensitive SupplyChain

Operations in Fruits and Vegetables

5 Market at Koyambedu in Chennai
Supply chain mapping and role of drivers for perishable.
wholesale market and trade

Kovambedu market serves as the centralized distribution centre for perishables such
as flowers, greens, and vegetables and the fruits (both inland and imported fruits).
Established by the State Government of Tamil Nadu under the jurisdiction of
Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), Koyambedu market is
located at the Chennai city limit with road facility and proximity to the
Mofusil Bus Terminal and Private Bus Terminals. This makes Chennai
transportation easy
without causing disturbance to the city traffic by utilizing the by-pass road.
The entire market premises are divided into three
parts/blocks:
1. Vegetable market known as Periyar Vegetable
2. Fruits Market known as Anna Fruits Market
3. Flower Market
Market, and
In each block, many shops with
variable space were allotted and were sold to
wholesale
merchants/dealers/commission
Storage facility agents by the CMDA of Chennai. Cold
is provided by TANFED (State
undertaken cold storage depot) within the market premisesGovernment of Tamil Nadu
for
the public. All common
amenities are made available for merchants/dealers and and
public within the premises. mnerchants/dealers
There is sufficient space in the market
goods to move in and out of the premises for transportation vehicles carrying
vehicles handling market. Also, there is ample parking space for
vegetables/fruits/flowers.
market at night by trucks and are parked atMost of the perishable goods arrive at the
one end of the
Anna Vegetable Market. market-adjacent to tne
Shops are either self-occupied or occupied on
categorized into.five types on the basis of size as listed inlease/rent. The shops are
Apart from the above, Table 8.
some
the pavements and in the openvegetable
space
retail shopkeepers run their own shops on
within the market premises with
from the Vegetable Merchants permisso
shown in Figure 4. The PeriyarAssociation in the market. The association structure
Market are headed by President. Vegetable Market Association and the Anna rue
 Case Studies 579
Table 8
Type
Cate gorizatio
Space (in sq ft)
n of shops

A1 2,400 No.of shops

A2 1,200 50
A3 600 25
A4 300 175
A5 150 400
450
the association's market
As per
fruits guidelines, the traders of fruit markets can trade
of any variety, and similarly,
onlyin the
vegetables. Similar guidelines are provided vegetable
to the traders in traders/merchants
can trade
in flowers.
President
Vice Legal
President Advisor Honorary
President
Assistant
Secretary Secretary Treasurer

Member1 Member 2

Member3 Member 4

Member5 Member 6

Member7 Member 8

Member 9 Member 10

veqetables/fruit merchant association

Figure 4 The structure of
Supply/Procurement
Vegetables alsosupplied from and
Tamil
to various places ofDelhi.
" Vegetables are procured and Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and
Andhra
Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, China
" Fresh garlic is also imported from
Canada by
lnnamon is imported from Sri Lanka Singapore, Malaysia, and
to Koyambedu markets.
" Fresh
vegetables are also exported at large quan-
SOme of the exporters who own/trade public wantingto purchasea
the
Small retailers and large retailers, andmarketfor procuringthem.
tity of vegetables and fruits visitthe
580 Suppiy Chain Management
Fruits
" Fruits are procured from and also supplied to various places in Tamil Nadu,
and Delb:
Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh,
Austria, and Australia.
"Apples are imported from USA,
" Mangoes are exported to Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Mauritius. a)
Dubai.
" Fruits and vegetables are imported/exported using air transportation.
market and
them at the
The exporters of vegetable and fruits collect get them
packed at the market premises before moving them to air cargo for exports by
air.
Commission agents and contract labourers provide the service of
packing, unloading, and loading of bags, boxes, and baskets of fruits and v handling,
etables for transporting to various places locally as well as tor export purpose.
Transportation and Handling
" Fruits,which are imported in containers of 20740', are brought to the fruit mar
ket after customs clearance and are stored in the cold storage at the first floor of
the middle block in the fruit market.
" Fruits and vegetables procured from various states arrive at the market late at
night by trucks, mini lorries, and vans.
" Vehicles carrying fresh vegetables are parked in the parking area on arrival at
night. The driver/cleaner/trader/representative of the trader who accompanies
the goods in the vehicles informs the contract merchant is about the arrival of
the vehicles by telephone.
Vegetables and fruits are unloaded by the unorganized and contracted
labourers available in and around the market premises.
Handling, packing, and marking of the consignments for exports are under
taken by organized labourers of commission agents at the market. This is done
for the exporters outside the market association, while the exporters within the
market make their own arrangements.
" Retailers make their own arrangement for procuring their needs and transpor
ing them to their destination by pre-arranged mini-vans, vehicles, autos, and so
on. They make this arrangement collectively and share the transportation cost.
Storage/Warehousing
There are two cold storage facilities maintained at the premises of the Koyambedu
market. One is at the Anna Fruit Market-exclusively for the storage of fruits-and
the other isnext to Periyar Vegetable Market by TANFED for vegetables/truits or )
other commodity from the public on specified rates.
Distribution
The Koyambedu market at Chennai functions as the largest distribution centre for
vegetables, fruits, and flowers in Tamil Nadu, The vegetables, fruits, and tlowel
 Case Studies 581

suppliedto the market by wholesale dealers and commission agents fromfarmers in

various places. "The wholesale merchants sell directly or indirectly through their
representatives, and the exporters of vegetables/fruits/flowers, large retailers, small
retailers, and individual customers visit the market everyday for good deals.
The distribution/transactions begin early morning at about 3 a.m. The peak time
for wholesale transaction/distribution is between 3 a.m. to 8 a.m. everyday.
Thereafter retail sales continue till 6 p.m. All transactions are dealt in cash on the spot.
In some cases, retailer customers, who are regular and trusted by traders, may be
given goods on credit by Koyambedu merchants.
Exporters of Perishables (Vegetables and Fruits)
The exporters listed below are the traders/merchants who have their shops in the
Periyar Vegetable Market, Koyambedu.
M/S Aishwarya Traders M/S Sri Padmavathi Traders

M/S Jeeva Ganesh Impex M/S Sri Rajalakshmi Exports

M/S NB.B. Traders M/SShakti Agengy
M/S Lakshmi Impex M/S Kutty and Co

Importers of Fruits
traders/merchants who have their shops in the
The importers listed below are the placed by email.
Market, Koyambedu, to whom purchase orders can be
Anna Fruit
M/S Eden Fruits
M/S Hasmukhlal Rajnikant & Company M/S M. Peddi Raju & Co
M/S Emn Pee Bee International M/S M.P. Babu
M/S Vinayak Imports &Exports M/S N.C. Alexander
M/S Sri RajalakshmiExports M/S N.P.M. International
M/S R.S.M. International M/S Salmaa Fruits
M/S Santhosh Narayan Shinde M/S M.R.M. International
M/S Shree Ganesh Fruit Company
Pricing competitive
vegetables is fixed by a group of merchants on
" Price per unit of
freshness of goods and information collected by the rep
methods based on the of the Koyambedu markets
from the trans
traders/merchants truck
resentative of the
of the commission agents who arrive with the
port drivers/representative
of
during late night.
goods, lesser the unit price fixed. Lesser the quantity is
Higher the quantity of fixed. For fresh vegetables, a higher unit price
goods, higher the unit price
fixed.
trucks should be sold only to the traders/mer
Vegetables and fruits brought in to any other person who does not own a shop
not
chants of the Koyambedu and
in the market.
wholesale transaction/distribution ends by 8 a.m. everyday.
. The entire
582 Supply Chain Management

During the distribution, if the demand for a particular vegetable is higher than the
available quantity, the per unit sale price of that vegetable is increased. som
even doubled, at later hours of the distribution. sometime
Price per unitof the vegetable sold to retailers also varies based on the
that is, larger the quantity lesser the unit price. quantity,
Competitive Markets in Chennai
Similar vegetable markets are available at T. Nagar, Mylapore, and Kothawal
Chawadi. The markets at T. Nagar and Mylapore receive their supply of vegetables
every day from rural areas outside Chennai and neighbouring districts. Fresh
vegetables are available in the afternoon or evening in the vegetable markets ofT
Nagar, Mylapore, and Kothawal Chawadi. Mostly the fresh vegetables from the T.
Nagar market are supplied to Kothawal Chawadi and other places. T. Nagar market is
located close to Mambalam Railway station, and most of the people who commute by
local trains buy vegetables from T. Nagar market. But these markets are very small and
can be treated as retail vegetable shopsserving direct individual customers.
One may note that a substantial portion of fruits and vegetables in India is wasted
for lack of poor infrastructure, improper handling, and lack of sensitivity to pricing.
Generally, information inefficiency is high, which is relates to availability at source.
market, and demand patterns. There are too many intermediaries causing market
inefficiencies and wastages. Government initiative like Koyambedu market provides
necessary infrastructure and cooperative framework to improve supply chain
operations.