Dynamics of production and export potential of cauliflower in India: A growth and stability analysis

Cauliflower is an important Cole crop as well as commercial crop contributed 4.71% of mean production share to the total vegetables in India. Present study explored the trends of area, production, productivity and export potential of cauliflower in India using secondary data. Statistical tools such as mean, standard deviation, Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) and Cuddy–Della Valle Instability Index (CDVI) were employed for the analysis. India continuously occupied as a 2nd largest global cauliflower producer with a mean production of 8733.09 million kg over last ten years with average annual growth rate of 1.93% and least instability of production (CDVI 2.63). The average domestic growth rate (CAGR) of area and production found to be 3.01% and 3.29% respectively over last 25 years. Whereas positive trend in productivity revealed much lower (0.27%) than area and production. West Bengal followed by Madhya Pradesh and Bihar altogether contributed around 47% of the total national average production of last 10 years. The study also found that the primary markets of cauliflower from India are Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives. However, India could not hold any position among the top 10 global exporters of cauliflower instead of being 2nd largest global producer might be due to high domestic consumption as well as low level of productivity. Hence, development of high yielding climate resilient varieties, scientific crop management, cold-chain and value addition infrastructure facilities, as well as backward and forward market linkage to boost overall production and export capabilities of cauliflower in India.