Abstract

MILLAN - ROMERO, Euriel; PACHECO - DIAZ, Wilson  and  MORALES - ALEMAN, Jorge. An economic study in Chinú, Cordoba department, for producing and marketing dehydrated Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana bertoni) leaves. Orinoquia [online]. 2012, vol.16, n.2, pp.24-31. ISSN 0121-3709.

A business plan was structured which proposed using Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana bertoni) for marketing dry leaves and using them as food for cattle. Surveys and interviews were held with agricultural product producers, companies and consumers to obtain relevant supply and demand data. Dried leaf demand was 944,400 kg, 1,065,600 kg and 1,880,800 kg in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively, and demand for sacks of leaf as food was 1,377, 1,605 and 1,994 for 2011, 2012 and 2013, respectively. By contrast, supply was 78,300 kg, 107,210 kg and 149,098.2 kg dry leaf and 3,599, 3,810 and 3,740 sacks of leaf as food for the aforementioned years. The internal rate of return (IRR) was 35.29%, net present value (NPV)$59,627,458with 18% opportunity rate and 1.57 cost benefit ratio, thereby indicating that the business plan was profitable. Stevia production would seem to offer income above that for traditional crops, steady production, rural modernisation and an improvement infarmers' quality of life. It may thus be concluded that implementing the aforementioned business plan is attractive as it deals with a profitable product having high yield and excellent sales' potential

Keywords : Stevia rebaudiana bertoni; profitability; market research; business plan.

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