An economic evaluation of Kinnow Mandarin Cultivation in Punjab

Kinnow is amongst the important citrus fruits grown in Punjab, and adjacent areas of Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. This study has evaluated the economics of production and constraints in kinnow-cultivation in Punjab. The investment in kinnow orchards has been found to be a profitable proposition from producer's point of view. The internal rate of return (IRR) varies from 22.41 to 25.65 per cent, depending upon the size of orchards. The net present value, benefit cost ratio and IRR at 12 per cent discount rate have been worked out as Rs 1,10,803, 1.435 and 24.48, respectively for the overall orchard group. The economic productive life of kinnow orchards is 25 years. The optimum size of orchards is above 5 hectares. The results reveal that the kinnow orchards are worth retaining as long as they give income of Rs 13,877 over the maintenance cost. The economic appraisal of investment methods has indicated that annual amortization method should be preferred because of its simplicity, efficiency and closeness to real situation. To achieve the targets of citrus fruits production, priority should be given to establishment of kinnow waxing, grading, packaging of plants, on-farm processing and quality control measures to minimize post-harvest losses, value-addition and remunerative prices to the kinnow-growers in Punjab.