Abstract:
The study was carried out to determine profitable market existence for tobacco, paddy
and big onion cultivations. The research was conducted in Galewela DS division in
Matale district. Tobacco, paddy and big onion were considered major cultivating
crops in the area during the yala season. The market existence for each crops were
evaluated using market window analysis. “Market window” refers to a period of
time when the prices received by producers for selected crops were greater than the
production costs. Profitability and economic efficiency of each crop was measured in
order to identify most suitable crop for the season. Cost of production and budget for
each crop was prepared using primary data obtained from the field survey in Galewela
DS division. Historical prices were collected from economic centers of Dambulla,
Meegoda and Ceylon Tobacco Company. Results revealed that profitable market
exists for each crop. There was no market existing for tobacco green leaf before 2009
and the profitable market was emerged for paddy after year 2007. Market for big
onion cultivators was profitable during studied time period (2003 – 2009) but volatile
in its pricing pattern. Highest profitability and the economic efficiency were observed
for big onion cultivation. Study revealed that most economic crop for yala season was
the big onion.
