Kautilya's Arthashastra 2.16.1

2.16.1

paṇyādhyakṣaḥ sthalajalajānāṃ nānāvidhānāṃ paṇyānāṃ sthalapathavāripathopayātānāṃ sāraphalgvarghāntaraṃ priyāpriyatāṃ ca vidyāt, tathā vikṣepasaṃkṣepakrayavikrayaprayogakālān //

THE Superintendent of Commerce shall ascertain demand or absence of demand for, and rise or fall in the price of, various kinds of merchandise which may be the products either of land or of water and which may have been brought in either by land or by water path. He shall also ascertain the time suitable for their distribution, centralisation, purchase, and sale.