Economic Analysis of Anthurium Cultivation in Homesteads of Kerala

An economic analysis of anthurium cultivation, tracing of marketing channels and estimation of marketing efficiency in homesteads of Central Kerala was carried out in 2011. Eighty anthurium growing units were surveyed across three scales of operation, viz., small (less than 500 plants), medium (500 to 1000 plants) and large (above 1000 plants) for a standard of 100 plants in each category. Per unit cost of cultivation of anthurium showed increasing pattern towards smaller groups with average cost ranging from Rs. 13830 in large group to Rs. 19341 in small group. The returns ranged from Rs.32,790 in small group to Rs.41,152 in large group. Capital productivity analysis indicated that anthurium enterprise was a highly profitable agri-business venture with Benefit- Cost ratio ranging from 1.30 to 2.22 and the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) much higher than the opportunity cost of capital. Six marketing channels were identified and the price spread varied from 27 % to 95% among the channels