Price Integration Analysis of Major Potato Markets in Haryana (Trans-Gangetic Plains), India

The present study examines the market integration of potato prices across selected markets in Haryana which lies in the Trans-Gangetic Plains (predominantly semi-arid to sub-humid climate) using monthly time series data from 2015 to 2024, collected from various published sources such as AGMARKNET and related government databases. To understand the inter-market price relationships, various econometric tools were applied, including correlation analysis, Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test, Johansen co-integration test, and Granger Causality test. Initially, correlation analysis of monthly wholesale prices revealed strong associations among the markets, with coefficients ranging from 0.616 to 0.913, with significant differences, indicating a high degree of market linkage. The ADF test was employed to examine stationarity showed that most price series were stationary at level under both intercept and intercept-trend models. This allowed further analysis using Johansen's co-integration technique, which indicated the presence of two co-integrating equations at the 1% level, suggesting long-run equilibrium relationships among the markets. Granger Causality results revealed multiple significant unidirectional and bidirectional causal relationships among the markets. The study confirms the existence of strong price linkages and dynamic interactions among potato markets in Haryana.