Price transmission, asymmetric adjustment and threshold effects in the cotton supply chain: a case study for Vidarbha, India

This study examines price transmission asymmetries in Vidarbha's (India) cotton supply chain from 2002 to 2012. The analysis takes account of thresholds in price adjustments toward their long-run equilibrium. The first stage considers the price dynamics between international and Indian domestic cotton prices. The second stage considers price transmission from domestic to farm gate cotton prices in Vidarbha. Results from the first stage indicate that Indian and international cotton markets are well-integrated. In contrast, the second stage reveals significant threshold-type nonlinearities as well as asymmetries in price transmission between domestic and farm gate prices. The short-run dynamics suggest that the pass-through from domestic to farm gate prices is larger when domestic prices decrease than when they increase. Moreover, back of the envelope calculations suggest that the loss in revenue for a typical farmer from a decrease in domestic price is larger than the gains from an increase in domestic price of the same magnitude. The implication is that traders benefit from price fluctuations at the expense of farmers. Evidence from fieldwork in Vidarbha suggest that asymmetries revealed in this analysis may be linked to trader's market power and inadequate market information among farmers.