Supply

The total quantity of commodity offered for sale in market at a given price during a certain period of time, is known as the supply of that commodity. The important point is how much the firms are willing to sell at a given price and not how much they actually sell at that price during a given time period. The supply of a commodity refers to a certain price a certain market and certain period of time. A distinction may be made here between the supply and the stock of a commodity. The stock refers to the total amount of commodity in existence at a certain point of time. But it is not necessary that all this stock is being offered for sale. If the price is low, the producer’s would offer less for sale and keep more in the stock. Similarly, if the price rises, the producers would draw more from their stock and offer a higher amount of the commodity for sale. Thus supply and stock are two different things. But in the case of perishable goods, the supply of the goods and the stocks are always equal. This is because the commodity by definition is perishable and hence, cannot be kept in stock. The whole quantity of this commodity is offered for sale. Thus, it is only in the case of durable goods that the supply may differ from the stocks of a commodity.