Analysis of the production structure and crop costs of pomegranates in Spain

M.A., Fernández-Zamudio; J., Bartual; A., Melián

Analysis of the production structure and crop costs of pomegranates in Spain

2012

M.A., Fernández-Zamudio | J., Bartual | A., Melián

The importance of the pomegranate is growing with increasing worldwide consumer demand,which is stimulated due to this fruits are considered a functional food, its technological improvements in processing and conservation and a wide range of new industrial uses of the fruit (packed arils, juices and extracts). The increased significance of this fruit in world trade is stimulating improvements in farmingtechniques and commercialization. This paper reviews the production structure of pomegranates in Spain,highlighting both the more favorable and limiting aspects. An analysis of the costs of pomegranate production at representative farms in Alicante province has been performed in order to identify more direct inputs into the economy of the farms which can contribute to their viability and continuity in the medium term. The first finding to be emphasized is that variable costs alone account for over 80 per cent of total costs.Labor is the largest cost (over 32 per cent of total costs), mainly due to the operations of pruning, thinning and harvesting. The irrigation water cost is over 17 per cent due to the high average price of this natural resource in the area. The current average prices in the two main Spanish pomegranate varieties (‘Mollar de Elche’ and ‘Valenciana’) exceed the minimum threshold to offset the costs.

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