The economic value of postharvest expenditure depends on whether it protects quality, limits physical loss and connects farmers with remunerative markets. This paper examines that relationship among 192 grape growers selected equally from Nashik and Sangli districts of Maharashtra during the 2025-26 grape season. Component-wise cost accounting is combined with Welch mean tests, Pearson correlation and multiple regression. Nashik growers incurred a marginally higher postharvest cost of ₹22.66 per kilogram than Sangli growers at ₹21.78, but realised a substantially higher weighted sale price, net realisation and revenue-to-cost ratio. Welch tests identified significant district differences in all principal expenditure, value-retention and loss indicators. Infrastructure, information, knowledge, formal market linkage and technology adoption were positively related to cost effectiveness at the bivariate level, although the combined adjusted evidence was mixed. Technology adoption retained a significant negative association with physical loss, while operational challenges reduced cost effectiveness and increased loss in both correlation and regression analysis. The hypotheses concerning district differences and operational challenges were supported, whereas the hypotheses concerning enabling conditions received qualified support. The findings show that low expenditure alone is an inadequate measure of postharvest efficiency. Expenditure retains value when preservation services, skills and market access operate as a connected system