Economic analysis of pear cultivation in Punjab

The study analyzed the cost structure, returns and efficiency of pear cultivation in Punjab. The results indicated that the expenditure on plant materials and planting costs have the largest share (20.40 per cent) during the establishment of pear orchards followed by digging and filling of pits (20.40 per cent). The annual operational/maintenance cost was low in the initial years, consistently increased during the subsequent years with the increase in the age of the orchard. Manures and fertilizers, intercultural operations, plant protection measures and training and pruning were the major components of operational cost. It emerged out that net annual returns received by the sample pear growers were quite high when they sold the produce themselves in the market than sale through a pre-harvest contractor. The benefit-cost ratio (BCR) greater than unity and Internal rate of return (IRR) greater than discount rate indicated that pear cultivation was economically viable in the study area. The BCR and IRR at 1.38 and 23.37 per cent, respectively in the case when output was sold by growers in the market directly were significantly higher as compared to 1.07 and 14.26 per cent for disposing-off output to the pre-harvest contractors.