An Economic Analysis of Export of Tomato from India

Tomato is one of the important vegetable crops in the world. India ranks second in terms of area and production of tomato. This paper attempts to quantify the growth, instability and the determinants of Indian fresh tomato exports. Secondary data was collected for a period of 20 years from 1994–95 to 2013–14. Compound growth rate (CGR) was used for analyzing the growth in tomato export quantity, export value and price over theyears and found positive. The instability index on export quantity, value and price of tomato exports were found to be instable whereas unit value was stable. The analysis on determinants of export revealed the factors like world export price, lagged domestic production and domestic price significantly influence the export of Indian fresh tomatoes. Efforts are also needed to improve the efficiency of production and quality in order to stabilize the markets and also to make the product acceptable and price competitive in other importing countries.