Economic Analysis of Protected Cultivation: Comparison of Vegetable vs. Fruit

This research examines solution to overcome the problems of opposition to growing vegetables under protected cultivation, This particular example was chosen to illustrate several important aspects of greenhouse production and marketing that affect profitability such as high prices of vegetable seeds, high prices of materials used in the sterilisation (methyl bromide gas), high prices of plastics in addition to low quality and short duration of use, etc.

The study depended on Bossali protected agriculture unit as example of application to measure the performance and efficiency of production and revenue during the period 1994-2006. Using the traditional system of protected cultivation, compared with a new system of performance and management of production processes, depends on the cultivation of some fruit crops under protected cultivation during the period 2007-2015.

The study analysed the structure cost of production per greenhouse also discussed some economic indicators such as: farm gate prices, total revenue, total costs and net return of cucumber and sweet pepper (as example for vegetables) and navel orange and keitt mango (as example for fruits). This enterprise budget illustration indicates a lack of profitability of this greenhouse vegetable enterprise using these particular assumptions regarding cost, price, and total revenue. Results revealed that net return reached 1234, 3466 Egyptian pound (LE)/greenhouse (540 m2) in navel orange and keitt mango respectively during the study period.