Marketing status of Iranian borage (Echium amuenum (F.M.)) in Azadshahr city of Golestan province

One of the most important problems medicinal plants face is the issue of marketing. Due to the special properties of the plants such as perishability, the marketing of their products is highly momentous. The Borage flower with the scientific name of Echium amuenum (F.M.) belongs to the Boraginaseae family. This species is monetarily valuable and can generate income and alternative jobs for local communities. Therefore, in this study, marketing margins have been examined using a questionnaire at three levels of manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers. On the basis of answers, the marketing margins of the indicators have been calculated. Also, three quality indicators including marketing, packaging and sales were examined using non-parametric tests among the statistical population. The results showed that the retail margin (96,000 Tomans) is more than the wholesale margin (28615/40 Tomans). Also, the producer's share of the final price is high (57.46%), so the production and cultivation of this medicinal plant in the study area is efficient. Evaluation of marketing index showed that differences between the three items of quality and quantity of borage in the market and the level of knowledge about marketing is significant at the level of 1%. On the packaging index, there was a significant difference (1%) between the four items of packaging quality, access to packaging tools, the portion of packaging in the final price and the effect of packaging on increasing people's desire. For the sales index, there is a significant difference at the level of 1% between the three items, including the price of borage in the market and the price purchased from the producer, the relationship with the sales market and the influence of brokers on the price. As a result, a high level of knowledge of product marketing and proper packaging can play an important role on the final price.