DETERMINING CORRELATIONS BETWEEN PRICE AND QUALITY CHARACTERS OF PERISHABLE COMMODITIES IN BOLIVIA

Abstract

ABSTRACT The grading and selection of perishable commodities for improved quality in developing countries have often been recommended but with little economic justification for the increased return this might bring to the producer. This paper reports the analysis of wholesale market price and quality characters of tomatoes, potatoes and bananas/plantains in Bolivia. The analysis indicates that, in order of importance, size, quality and ripeness contribute to the determination of prices of tomatoes though the model only explains 52% of the variation in price indicating that other unidentified factors influence the price. With potatoes and bananas/plantains only size of tubers and bunches were shown to relate significantly to price. This study, though limited in the number of commodities, does provide an indication of where important relationships exist, especially in tomatoes. The methodology, used here could be usefully applied in other developing country situations where there is a need for rapid assessment of the economic importance of different aspects of the produce quality.