Tamarind monograph.pdf - Crops for the Future

Chapter 10. Economics of Production,
Marketing and Trade
10.1 Introduction
K.V.R. Ramana, B.A. Prasad and P. Vijayanand
Statistics relating to tamarind production, marketing and exports are
exceedingly patchy. What figures are available are not always reliable. This
chapter uses illustrations only to support the known potential for the crop
and to highlight trends in demand.
10.2 Economics of production
Information from the Periyakulam Research Station, Tamil Nadu, India
shows that the cost involved in production is mostly for field labour and the
purchase of seedlings or grafts. There is no income in the first three years
but intercropping with annual crops can compensate for the labour and other
costs. Trees will begin to bear from the fourth year if they have been
vegetatively propagated and have a pod yield of 40 kg/tree giving a net
profit of Indian Rs 14,000 per hectare. When the trees reach maximum
bearing at 10 years, a yield of about 100 kg/tree could be harvested with a
profit of Rs 38,000 (Table 10.1).
Table 10.1 Income from a tamarind plantation, Periyakulam Research
Station, Tamil Nadu, India. Estimates are based on 90 trees per hectare and
the rate of the tamarind fresh pulp @ Rs 10/- per kg
Year Investment
(Rs)
Tamarind per
tree (kg)
116
Yield
per ha
(kg)
Income
(Rs)
Net
Income
(Rs)
1 st 1500/-
2 nd 1000/-
3 rd 1000/-
4 th 2000/- 40 1600 16 000 14 000
5 th 2000/- 50 2000 20 000 18 000
6 th 2000/- 60 2400 24 000 22 000
7 th 2000/- 70 2800 28 000 26 000
8 th 2000/- 80 3200 32 000 30 000
9 th 2000/- 90 3600 36 000 34 000
10 th 2000/- 100 4000 40 000 38 000
11 th year
and above
2000/- 100 4000 40 000 38 000
Source: Rao (1995)