Abstract:
Pomelo (Citrus grandis,Linn) is the tropical fruit crop which is consumed not only domestically but also in foreign countries. Pomelo can be grown in almost every province of Thailand, but the most extensive growing area is Nakhon Pathom Province. Pomelo gives a high yield between the fourth and tenth year of growing. Therefore, investment on pomelo production is an interesting enterprise. The main objective of this thesis is to study on costs, revenue and rates of return on pomelo production in Nakhon Pathom Province. The study was made during the 1984/1985 cropping season through questionnairs sent to 50 pomelo growers in Nakhon Pathom Province. The average farm size of those interviewed farmers was approximately 6-10 rai. This is regarded as a medium farm size which most pomelo growers depend their livelihood on for about 10 years. There are many cultivars of pomelo, but this study is focusing on the only one cultivar namely Khao Thong Dee, because it generates more income to the growers than any other cultivars. The study was done on two cases, the first is an investment in pomelo production by renting the land, and the second one is the investment in pomelo production by purchasing land for production. The Rate of Return on Investment, Payback Period, Net Present Value and Internal Rate of Return methods were used in the analysis. The discount rates of 11 percent and 14 percent per annum were used in the analysis. The former discount rate was the commercial banks fixed deposit rate while the latter was the lending rate of the Bank for Agricultural and Agricultural Co.-operative. The average selling prices of Khao Thong Dee is between 15 and 20 baht per fruit according to the selling seasons. An average selling price of 17 baht per fruit was used in the analysis. The average selling price was the wholesale price that farmer received at farm gate. The results of this study showed that the pomelo would yield in year 4 after growing. Yield varied according to the ages of pomelo tree. Generally the yield in year 10 would be highest, after which the yield per tree would decline.
The study revealed that the pomelo farm size of 10 rai that grew only Khoa Thong Doo cultivar by renting land had the average costs of production 89,009 baht/farm in year 4 while in year 10 cost went up to 187,358 bath/farm/year. The costs of care-taking pomelo trees included fertilizer, pesticides and fuel oil. These cost components were regarded as the most important factor in pomelo production, they contributed approximately 66.64 percent of the total cost. An average in come in year 4 was 59,500 baht/farm and went up to 654,500 baht/farm in year 10. The highest net profit attainable for this crop was found in year 10. With the yielding period of 10 years, the average total net profit is about 1,874,985 baht/farm or approximately 63.02 percent of the total income. The above-mentioned results applied only to the case of renting land for farming. In the case of purchasing land for pomelo production, it was found that the income from pomelo was equal to the case of renting land, but the costs of production in the case of purchasing land for farming was higher than those in the case of renting land. The average costs of pemelo production in the case of purchasing land was 132,999 baht/farm in year 4 and went up to 256,248 baht/farm in year 10. The costs of fertilizers, pesticides and fuel oil contributed 48.38 percent of the total cost. Income in year 4 generated in this case was 59,500 baht/farm/year, and rose up to 654,500 baht/farm/year in year 10. The maximum net profit attainable for this crop was found in year 10. Within the yielding period of 10 years, the average total net profit is about 1,459,985 baht/farm/year or approximately 49.07 percent of total income. Comparison on Khao Thong Dee production on rented land and owned land farms revealed that the rate of return on investment of the former was 123.98 percent while that of the latter was 61.24 percent. Payback period on both types of farm operation were 5 years 7 months and 6 years 6 months respectively. Based on the discount rated of 11 and 14 percent per annum, net present value of the rented farm operation were 708,787 baht and 544,545.69 baht respectively, while those of the owned farm operation were 464,385.19 baht and 328.073.39 baht respectively. The Internal Rate of Return was 42.54 percent for the rented farm and 28.52 percent for the owned farm.
It could be concluded that at present the investment in pomelo production has a very high yield in terms of investment returns. Even though returns on pomelo production is considered high enough for investment, pomelo growers in Nakhon Pathom Province are still facing some major problems, for example, high production costs, marketing, financing, pests and diseases problems. Recommendations to solve those mentioned problems are offered as follow. 1. To reduce the cost of production, the costs of protecting, controlling and relieving pests and diseases, the government should support private sector in investing on production of agricultural chemicals with reasonable prices for farmers, and disseminate knowledge on pets and diseases control as well as on improvement of packaging and provide better transportation facilities for pomelo export. 2. To reduce marketing problems, pomelo growers should form the Pomelo Producers Association to create bargaining power against middle-men. With such association, it is anticipated that farmers will receive more reasonable price in selling pomelo while the quality of their products can be controlled as well. The selling system based on weight should replace the present system of selling by size and grades with the aid obtained form the government agencies concerned through the pomelo producers association. 3. Financing problems could be solved by establishing The Agricultural Co-operative among the growers. Farmers should also grow seasonal cash crop to relief financial problem before income from pomelo could be obtained. With co-operations from all sections concerned, the above-mentioned problem could be eliminated or mitigated resulting in pomelo production being one of important economic crops which would help improving income of pomelo growers as well as generaling more income for the country.