Economic viability of mentha processing units - A case study of Punjab Agarwal Dipanshi1,*, Singh J.M.1, Horo Aniketa2 1Department of Economics and Sociology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India 2Department of Agricultural Economics, Narayan Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Gopal Narayan Singh University, Jamuhar, Sasaram, Rohtas, Bihar, India *Corresponding author: dipanshi-aes@pau.edu (ORCID ID: 0000-0001-5790-9221)
Online Published on 21 October, 2023. Abstract Mentha crop undergoes distillation in the processing units to yield mint oil, which in turn is a highly valued commodity extensively used in the cosmetic industry. Therefore, the present study was conducted in the year 2020 to investigate the viability of mentha processing units (MPUs). For this, four mentha processing units in the Moga district of Punjab were closely studied and it was found that these MPUs were working at less than their full capacity and utilizing obsolete processing technology, thus earning themselves marginal profits. These MPUs can be turned into profitable enterprises by the adoption of the latest technology, increasing the level of mechanization and motivating the farmers to increase the supply of mentha through improved practices, thus enabling the processing units to run at full capacity and alleviate their efficiency. Highligshts • A profit-loss statement summarizing the revenues and costs incurred by mentha processing units. • The processing units were in hand to mouth situation with low financial and profitability ratios. Top Keywords Mentha, Viability, Processing units, Punjab. Top |