The Good Shepherd and the Black Sheep: Paradoxical Irony in “The Lame Shall Enter First”

â€Å"[W]hen thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth† counsels the Bible, thus setting the precedent for all well-meaning members of western society concerning their charitable intentions (Matt. 6. 3). Humanity's motivation to aid others, regardless of the outcome, is oft times spotted by the subtle struggle between selflessness and selfishness. Flannery O'Connor captures this classic conflict between good and evil in Southern Grotesque fashion through her characters, the protagonist Sheppard and his foil, Rufus Johnson, in [comment2] â€Å"The Lame Shall Enter First†. comment3] Challenging the literal paradigm of light and darkness, O'Connor weaves together well crafted characterization, cryptic dialogue, and both biblical and literary allusion in this paradoxical plot and, by way of Sheppard and the antithetical Rufus, blends the black and white of Christian dogma into an ironic grey. The contrast of light and dark begins with the descrip tion and characterization of the apparently angelic [comment4] Sheppard, and continues with the introduction of the obscure and ominous Rufus Johnson. O'Connor is not pretentious in her description and development of either character. Sheppard's white hair and â€Å"halo† are obvious references to his protagonistic status as the story's do-gooder [comment5] (Norton 371). The narrator continues on by lauding his charitable contribution to the community as a counselor and weekend volunteer for â€Å"boys no one else cared about† (372). The reader's only initial clue toward Sheppard's self-righteous mania is his deliberate, guilt-implying sermon towards Norton, his disconcerted and doomed son. It is not, however, until the arrival of the dim, drenched Rufus that seemingly stark white coat of Sheppard loses its untainted radiance. comment6] Johnson is literally cast as the black sheep from the moment he limps into the house in his soaking â€Å"wet black suit† (376). The ultimate personification of evil comes when he is physically compared directly to the perennial villian Adolf Hitler (378). His opaque character is developed as dark as his appearance through his unending ingratitude and spiteful words toward his supposed savior, Sheppard. The ambiguous dialogue between the two main characters continues to blur the line between the traditional literal concept of good versus evil and the author's own Grotesque version. comment7] O'Connor's use of foreshadowing and plot development through dialogue is essential to the work, and is much more obvious upon rereading it. Though Sheppard's works are concrete and compassionate, his words are abstract and empty. His answers to both Norton and Rufus come in rehearsed, logical explanations. [comment8] Sheppard's attempts to animate either child about their future are thwarted by his own uncertainty. The clearest example of this comes from one of the most crucial sections of the story, when Sheppard fails to satisfy Norton's desire to know where his deceased mother is: â€Å"She doesn't exist [. . ] That's all I have to give you, [. . . ] the truth† (383). [comment9] Where the â€Å"good† shepherd fails, the black sheep pr evails. The dark character that Rufus is developed into shows an admirable assurity and for once a faint light flickers from behind the â€Å"black sheen [that] appear[ed] in the boy's eyes† (375) as he describes the existence of heaven and hell to Norton, confirming that the boy's mother is â€Å"saved† (383). Then, in one of the most obvious uses of foreshadowing in the story, Rufus goes on to tell Norton [comment10] that â€Å"Right now you'd go where she is [. . . but if you live long enough, you'll go to hell† (383). Once again Sheppard and his voice of reason seem to grow grayer as he immediately tells Norton to close the window, as if to separate him from the stars and his newly found hope in the existence of his mother (383). Admittedly influenced by her orthodox Christian background (408), O'Connor scatters both biblical and assorted literal allusions throughout her story, creating somewhat of a parody of common Christian themes. The use of Sheppard as the name of the protagonist binds the character to some religious comparison immediately. This is only reinforced when Rufus pronounces bitterly: â€Å"He thinks he's Jesus Christ! † (381) [comment11]Another use of allusion with reference to Sheppard is Rufus' [comment12] crudely accurate accusation of him as a â€Å"big tin Jesus† (395). Like the forlorn tin man from The Wizard of Oz, Rufus' statement argues that Sheppard is just as hollow as that empty, heartless shell of a man, regardless of his outwardly good deeds. Perhaps the most encompassing phrase in the story is O'Connor's allusion to the verse in St. Matthew quoted in the first paragraph. [comment13] Repeated both at the beginning of the story and in his final appearance, Rufus declares that Sheppard â€Å"don't know his left hand from his right! † (377, 395). Clearly O'Connor is alluding to Sheppard's selfish or misguided agenda well illustrated when he tells Norton of his desire to help the orphaned Rufus. Sheppard's publicly done deeds are challenged by Rufus, the unwilling recipient of a well-meaning man going through the motions, yet craving some sort of reward for his actions. The once polarized characters grow ever closer with the equalizing power of reality. â€Å"The Lame Shall Enter First† ends as abruptly as it begins. There is no cathartic victory for the alleged [comment14] â€Å"good shepherd†, only the agony of total defeat. Sheppard's epiphany comes too late and the stark contrast that once distinguished him from the dark object of his alms turns into the faded realization that he is no better than the beleaguered beneficiary. Through O'Connor's strategic literary devices, deft character contrast, and parody of entrenched Christian values, the reader is left to digest and dissect the fact that maybe the entire flock [comment15] isn't worth one black sheep. Between the black and white islands of moral certainty, good and evil, there lies a sea of ironic grey. Works Cited The King James Version. Great Britain: Cambridge UP, 1996. O'Connor, Flannery. â€Å"The Lame Shall Enter First. † The Norton Introduction to Literature. Eds. Jerome Beaty and J. Paul Hunter. 7th ed. New York: Norton, 1998. 371-414.

Major trends in corrections Essay

Functions of photography in police investigation: It can be to heal- using of photography, the investigator solved the crime by examining the photograph and identify who is the perpetrator. It can be to inform It can be to record- to record the crime scene itself and to record the evidence. It can be to influence It can be to entertain It can be to transform It can be to preserve- to preserve all the evidence that captured in the crime scene. Even though the crime scene is cleaned there are the photographs to be examined. It can be to decorate It can be to use- used in examining crime scene. And it is used as evidence. It can be to play 2010: The year of the correctional officerIn a year of tightened budges, officer furloughs, and increased media attention, officers stood strong.| By Barry EvertEvery year I am asked to write about the year prior. Quite honestly, I rarely agree to this because it usually has little training value. This year, though, I have made the exception. 2010 was a lot of things to a lot of people. Overall, probably, it was a rough year for most reading this. 2010 was not the year of the dragon, or the year of the dog; it was the year of the Correctional Officer.Budget cuts was the song sung from high at almost every capitol building in the country. Politicians proudly paraded themselves as the saviors of the economy as they slashed public safety budgets to new lows. At the same time new spending programs were put into place for everything from the protection of tree frogs to building bridges to nowhere. At the bottom of this pile was corrections. Many police agencies were able to scream loudly enough to get enough funding to keep their departments running, albeit barely. When Corrections agencies made the same call, we were largely ignored. Many states implemented a â€Å"furlough† program, or something similar, that cut the salaries of the lowest paid employees. On top of this, training was cut to an all time low, while the hiring of new officers was frozen. Simple math tells us that it was also time for a whole generation of officers to retire. They have yet to be replaced, so mandatory overtime is the norm. During the build-up of the popularity of crack cocaine in the early 80’s, crime rose to an all time high. Incarceration rates shot through the roof at the same time. This, along with tougher sentencing laws, led to a wave of prison building and hiring. By the early 90’s, most departments had outgrown themselves, and were desperately hiring as many people as they could. Those officers are now due to retire. Few states took this into consideration, so as we entered this year under budget cuts, we were expected to do more with less — much less.So was 2010 a loss? Not exactly. Through all of this, the community has learned an important lesson if they choose to look. In almost any other profession, these reductions in pay, along with an increase in danger at the working environment, would have led to catastrophic work stoppages, or large scale protests. But no one walked away from their duties. No one went on strike. And to the best of my knowledge, there were only a few small scale protests by officers. At the end of the day, feeling underappreciated and underpaid, correctional officers punch the clock after protecting society from those they have incarcerated. With many of the resources cut or gone, we went about our business and did our job. Yes, some mistakes were made. Many were due to a lack of resources or just plain tired officers making mistakes. With fewer resources in place, and with less staff, the average officer worked even harder than usual, and did so at a discounted salary.No walk-outs, no â€Å"blue flu,† no rebellion. I would never have expected less from us as a group, but others are starting to take note. People who have never dealt with corrections are starting to understand our predicament. It was not because we sat on the floor and threw a temper tantrum about our working conditions, but it was through our continued dedication to the safety of the public, regardless of what was thrown at us, that people are starting to take note of us. 2010 was the year of the Correctional Professional. I have never been prouder to be part of a group of people than I am today. I realized this about 6 months ago when I overheard several officers talking. The officers were discussing a major union conference that had just taken place. During this conference, the possibility of striking had come up. It was decided at this conference that the membership of this union could vote to strike if they felt it necessary. The officers were discussing the possibility of a strike. By the time the 5 minute conversation was over, all of the officers walked away agreeing that there was no way they would ever strike, even if it was legal to do so. The reasons ranged from not wanting to leave their brothers and sisters behind, to feeling that they were officers first, union members second. Do you think this conversation would have been the same had it been on the floor of a factory?This sentiment quickly spread throughout the state, and it was made clear to this union that striking is not now, and never will be an option; it would be better to resign. This came out of the mouths of officers who, like me, had suffered a 15% pay reduction, an increase in their medical payments, and an increase in retirement contributions. Many officers have lost their homes, or have had members in their family, or themselves, take on another job. Through it all they are still dedicated.This is why this has been the year of the Correctional Officer. Although this has been a tough year, and things are not looking any better for next year, people on the outside are getting to see us for who we really are. How many times have we said: â€Å"If people only knew what we went through.† The people are listening, so speak wisely and keep your head up. Don’t ever forget why you wear that uniform, and continue to be the proud, dedicated officers we know you can be.So I raise my glass as we pass through the last part of this year, to all of those we lost this year. To all of our brothers and sisters who have made the ultimate sacrifice: You are not forgotten. To all of us who continue to protect, I say: Bravo! The people are finally starting to listen. Make sure you are saying the right things.Be safe out there folks, and party sanely.

Relationship Marketing Ryanair

Ryanair was established in the year 1985 by the RYAN family and has grown from a small airline flying a short hop from Waterford to London, into one of the Europe’s largest carriers. The company expanded and within 4 years it had 350 employees, 14 aircraft, and carried 600,000 passengers a year. It is currently serving to 26 European Countries with 148 destinations. It operates on 794 different routes daily serving by more than 1050 flights in a day. It has totally 169 aircrafts running for different routes with 5986number of employees working in it However, Ryanair’s costs rose drastically and it recorded losses of  £20 Million sover four years despite its growth. Although consumers were continuing to fly Ryanair due to its low costs, some type of change was needed in order to revamp the company. Under a new management team, a major overhaul of the airline was undertaken in 1990/91 and it was relaunched as the first of the new breed of ‘Low Frees/no Frills’(Scribd.com(2009)) Company Perspectives: Ryanair is Europe's prominent Low Fares Airline: In 2011 we expect to carry over 6 million passengers across 34 routes. Ryanair have recently added 7 new European routes to our ever expanding network. It is market leader on every course where it competes with Air Lines. Ryanair is convinced that Europe's high-cost and often state-subsidised airlines will be no match for its low cost, no frills formula. Ryanair set to grow by 25% each year, and a US $2 billion order for 45 new aircraft in place, millions of European air travellers will feel the `Ryanair effect' in the years ahead. Literature review: Methodology Validated the dynamic nature of the aviation sector and in particular the evolve nature of ( low cost carrier) LCCs and airport networks this paper can only provide a snap shot at a personal point in time. In their contact with airline operator, airports need transparency and stability involved Ryanair, in the face of severe rivalry from other airports in mainland Europe by submission them a financial package comprising summary landing and handling charge, marketing of the airlines services, office space, pilot place, in addition to payment for employment and education. The issue was therefore one of clearness with the financial incentive seen as a twist of the air transport market. It would come out to be that all â€Å"start-up† deals must be apparent and fair, it may be that in private owned airports maybe more signal to LCCs than those which are publicly own. Benefits to local economy Some publicly own airports have selected to draw LCC with preferential deals in order to challenge to take benefits to the local economy. Whilst such profit may accrue, it can be complex to predict/quantify. For example, the owner of an airport in Southern Europe and the local tourist influence worked together in submission a package of concessions in order to draw a LCC to the airport with the intension of attract tourists to the local economy. As such, the airport paid aeronautical charges, provide a bus link to the town centre and made a financial involvement to advertising the service. It was establish that passengers were with the airport as a transit point on their outside access journey to their holiday objective, leaving only secondary benefit to the local economy and little or no advantage to the airport The 7 P’s of Ryan air marketing: Ryan air is the European low cost airline. Low cost or no frills marketing strategy are of great interest to marketers since the marketing mix employed tends to run in opposition to what makes a large brand – and Ryan air is a great brand and a very popular business. In 2009 the company solve for 30% of its local Irish rival Air Lings after a prolonged takeover bid. Difficult trading disorder meant that Ryanair made its first annual loss in 2008/9. O'Leary put this down secure to rising fuel costs (as did British Airways in the same year). The company also necessary to take into account the burden of purchase its stake in Air Lines. So in reality object are looking good for Ryanair and its budget operation – since the business aimed to fly double the amount of passengers. Ryan air’s marketing mix:- Product or Service. Ryanair has low fares. Low cost, no frills air travel to European destinations. There is no free food or drink onboard. Food and drink are income streams. You buy them onboard, or you do not – take your own food and drink if you like. There are other income streams – or ancillary revenue. The company has bargain with Hertz car rental, and a number of hotel businesses. So Ryanair takes a commission on ‘up selling' i.e. ancillary revenue. Other examples include phone cards and bus tickets. About 16% of profit is made this way. This keeps costs lower. Price 70% of seats are sold at the lowest two fares.30% of seats are charged at higher fares. The last 6% are sold at the highest fare Ryanair sometimes get in trouble with bodies such as the Advertising Standard Authority (ASA) in the UK over differences between advertised and actual price – in fairness to Ryanair these are rare mistakes. Place Ryanair does not use travel agent so it does not pay agency commission. It uses directs marketing technique to recruit and retain customers, and to extend products and services to them (i.e. Customer Relationship Management). This reduces costs. You book online over the Internet. This saves them 15% on agency fees. They are base in Stan stead in Essex – which is known as a secondary airport. It is cheaper to fly from Stan stead than either Heathrow or Gatwick, and since it is less occupied Ryanair can turn aircraft around more alert. Many of Ryanair's destination airports are secondary. For example if you fly to Copenhagen (Denmark) you begin in Malmo (Sweden) – although it is only a short coach trip over the border. Secondary airports .depend upon this single carrier – some (it is rumoured) paying up to  £100, 000 for each extra new route. Costs are lower and aircraft can be turned around faster. Promotion Ryanair employ controversy to promote its business. For example in 2009, the company justification that passengers would be charged  £1 to use the toilets on board. O'Leary reasoned that passengers could use the dying at either the destination or arrival airport. This would rapidity things up. Some of their aircraft are decorated in the uniform of advertisers e.g. News of the World, Jaguar and Kilkenny (beer). People Pilots are recruiting when they are young as pilot cadets. They work hard and take early promotion and then move on after 10-years or so to further their careers. Cabin crew pay for their uniform to be clean. They invest in their own training. They are mainly important for passenger safety as well as ancillary revenue onboard. Physical Evidence They pay as little as likely for their aircraft. Plane are the most expensive asset that an airline can make. They get big discount on aircraft because they buy them when other airlines don't want them, for example after September 11th, or on the spoiling of Iraq and Afghanistan. Aircraft manufacturer cannot simply end a supply chain in minutes. If orders are being cancel or delayed, this is when to buy. It was rumoured within the industry that Ryanair was buying Boeing 737s – list price around  £40,000,000 (forty million pounds) – with up to a 50% discount. Process There is no check in. You easily show your passport and supply your reference number. Beyond any distrust, Ryanair is one of the strategic marketing successes of the last decade. Certainly synergized by Michael O'Leary – the low cost strategy that it employ is unusual and industry changing. In many ways the business has looked intimately at all appearance of it markets and operations to remould the industry and customer expectations in a unique way. The determination here in this post was to introduce a company and its assorted strategies for long run business success. Much of these marketing strategies illustrates are very much Ryan air relationships with customers. Customer Affairs & Service Audit (CASA), are two teams that have been set up by the company to track customer satisfaction and complaints. which are recent additions to network of regional offices in UK/Europe. They have covered areas globally and in doing so they have already reviewed an improvement by 50 % when it comes to dealing with customer complaints as they are being dealt with quickly and in local areas to customers. The service audit team check products and services on regular basis for improvements and for assistance in ensuring success they also have a team of mystery shoppers who will report back any suggestions and changes from a customer point of view. Internal and external checks are carried out all departments from customer services to flight staff. All reports are then reviewed and changes are implemented to ensure customers are receiving a high standard of service and communication with the company. Government Technology Interest Rates Culture Exchange Rates Ryanair has been successful in maintain its rapport and relations with customers and different areas of their services such in flight entertainment, food, tourism and overall services. It also been seen that Ryanair has had some problems in customer relations in reference to airport services as they have received complaints with the method airport staff have treat customers with complaints. Though this has been effectively dealt with by internal departments it still highlights problems that are having with external staff. Emirates can implement a training session that is more focused on them to certify that there processes are getting executed in accordance to what the customer first experiences whilst booking online or through an Ryanair Airline. Ryanair Customer Loyalty â€Å"It offers a comprehensive range of CRM and loyalty solutions† It launched several programmes where they had different levels of rewards schemes for both business flyers and annually holiday flyers. The miles collected can be spent in hotels, high street shops, car rental etc .Schemes for those travelling on Ryanair flights were the miles can be used for in-flight services such as games, special meals were also been introduced. This form of loyalty scheme for existing customers can also be a very attractive way of new customer retention as in the long term they will have benefits firm that they spend today. Their loyalty scheme also targets customers from their other sister companies as it isn’t only exclusive to flyers but also to those that consume other services and products from Ryanair Group They offer competitive loyalty schemes for users and update their schemes as they view the changes in the market place. Customer segmentation The evidence is irrefutable. With marketing budgets person squeezed, marketers see improved targeting as critical. That means improved customer segmentation bas on the ability to score customers’ tendency to buy, churn or default – and react accordingly, at speed. Armed with better customer perceptiveness (such as predictive analytics, uplift modelling and data visualization) you can start to engage customers based on deeper and more significant insights, creating system based dynamic customer segments – a segment of one. The latest customer segmentation solutions are intelligent. They are not finite. They are not static. They are based on sound data management values and fed by a faithful stream of information that reflects changes in customer aspirations and circumstances. It means that campaign can be managed dynamically, in real-time to communicate with customers at what we call ‘moments of truth’ – those seminal mome nts when people are most engaged with the brand.

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 215

Assignment Example ible inconsistency between traits of God and existence of evil that people suffer has a solution and this clarifies the point that despite sufferings that people undergo, God is all-powerful and cares about people. While the omnipresent feature means that God knows everything that people go through and having authority and being a loving and caring God would mean that He foresees any calamity and can protect people from it, bad things still happen to people. While evil defines a bad thing that destabilizes a system, and this is evident in such phenomena as diseases and calamity, the concept of moral evil offers a solution to the problem of evil. Under the concept, a moral agent exist that causes evil and human actions identifies the agency. This, together with the fact that God gave human being authority on earth and the freedom of choice, means that God may foresee evil and have authority over it, but He grants human being the freedom to decide on acting as an agent of moral evil or not. If man chooses to act morally then God’s authority becomes effective and He protects people from evil. Otherwise, man causes evil (Klibengajtis 4- 6). God granted man freedom and authority in earth and human actions, in consistency with God’s authority, causes evil. People’s sufferings are therefore consistent with the belief that God is all-powerful and cares for people because God acts on people’s will to either allow of prevent evil depending on human

The History of advertising and Brand Promotion Assignment

The History of advertising and Brand Promotion - Assignment Example The contribution of universal creative studios, Rowling and Warner Brothers have been successful in creating a brand in Harry Potter through branded entertainment (Thomas, Chris, & Semenik, 2012). Through various advertising and promotional channels, and partnerships the partners have made Harry Potter both a product and a brand. Potter’s marketers are continuing to keep the brand going through cross-promotional partnerships. Cross-promotional strategy and brand recognition sustain the success of the Potter brand. Coca Cola’s â€Å"Timely refreshment† ad fits in the designer era. This is because the ad appeals to the social class and conscious value for time management. Designer labels and social class-consciousness were some of the characteristics of the designer era ads. The calving Klein ad â€Å"fits in the e-revolution era because it includes a technological appeal of the current generation. The ad displays a woman wearing the latest design clothes. The diet coke ad was developed in 2002, so it is supposed to fit in the e-revolution era. However, it does not display the public consumption status of the designer era. A home improvement ad called â€Å"the perfect daughter† by Fahrenheit DDB in Lima Peru shows the problem a dad face on a trip to Promart. The ad is appealing to women because it tugs into viewers emotions. The family approach in the ad will attract female consumers. An automotive ad for Fiat 500L â€Å"The Motherhood† appeals to women because it explores the concept of motherhood, which, is core to women’s emotions. The ad will attract consumers because it targets the female niche. Budweiser â€Å"puppy love† ad was appealing to women as it shows a woman expressing moments of tenderness on a puppy. This would attract women consumers to these

Pr 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Pr 3 - Essay Example Although all the above qualities are desired in a school leader, I believe it is not fair to expect one person to be good at so many aspects of work. This is the reason why â€Å"shared leadership† seems to be an effective idea to me. In shared leadership, the leader passes around the command to the team according to the demand of the job. This is according to Burns theory of Transformational Leadership, which he defined as the â€Å"ability to empower others â€Å".In other areas as well, it is known that after a limit, benefits like salary hike do not motivate the employees any more. The trick beyond that limit is to give them decision making power. The same is true in education as well. An effective school leader helps staff members by providing personal attention, encourages them to think out of the box and shows trust in them by making them a part of important decision making. Another theory that seems to be very appealing to me especially in education is the Servant Leader theory. Educational institutions in our world are generally seen as institutions made to serve the community. Although education is big business nowadays, still people like to think of it as a place which is not for profit but for the welfare of students. In countries like India, schools are considered sacred just like a place of worship. Keeping in mind this mindset of the society, servant leaders are very suitable for schools. These leaders want to serve first, and in the process of serving, they acquire the wisdom, skills and authority of a leader. They are caring, helpful and sensitive to the needs of both the teachers and students of their school and work towards their success by doing constant labor themselves. The leader that has had a major impact on me can be considered as belonging to the servant leader class. Just as the theory describes, this leader was not the principal or top official of the school but was at the center of the

Week3 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Week3 - Assignment Example Attempt to use laps between foreign tax law and U.S to effectively duplicate tax benefits. The treasury should address this lop holes by use of existing laws and by legislation of bylaws to cub this practice. (Albrecht, Albrecht, 2008). A U.S citizen can reduce or minimize U.S. tax obligations by claiming tax credit on foreign taxes on income. This is subjected to the following condition; the maximum tax credit payable must not exceed the amount of tax that would be payable if this income tax was taxed using domestic income tax rate. Any excess tax paid to a foreign county is not claimable. For example if a U.S citizen X earns $9,000 foreign annual income and this is the only of taxable income for X. And x had paid 800 as tax on this income. His domestic tax liability will be 900 less 800 tax credit. For example if a U.S citizen X earns $9,000 foreign annual income and this is the only of taxable income for X. And x had paid 800 as tax on this income. His domestic tax liability will be 900 less 800 tax credit. However, is this tax credit is eliminated; the government will earn an additional

BUS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

BUS - Essay Example d direct communication between different ranks within the restaurant hierarchy, the staff was aware of restaurant’s vision, and everyone saw all the achievements and failures of colleagues. Nevertheless, the main weakness of this construct in the reality was that the personality of manager did not fit this role. In my case, these meetings turned to suffering. Every day, we were bored listening how the most experienced waiters discussed their achievements with manager, while the others we blamed for their mistakes. In addition, the vision of restaurant melted in the details our manager noticed. Thus, it is crucial to maintain fragile balance within the quality management not to destroy its effectiveness. This situation showed that quality management is not only about boring daily meetings. On the contrary, it is about the way the leader understands his mission in providing the highest quality services to customers. If he is incapable to comprehend it, quality management does not work

AED Wk 8 DQ 1 Replies Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

AED Wk 8 DQ 1 Replies - Coursework Example John smith: exceptionalities addressed include john’s outstanding intelligence, his ability to learn things fast with little help from instructors especially if they are hands on. in addition, John thrives on organization, structure and procedures as they provide him with balance. This is revealed by the fact that any change in school program leaves him confused and emotional. The teacher should incorporate instructive technology to keep John’s attention considering he enjoys working with electronics. Few, short and doable assignments should be given enabling him to complete tasks. Organization and structure should also be emphasized in the classroom environment and dealing with behavior (Rosenberg, Westling & Mcleaskey, 2007). Ethan Andrew: exceptionalities addressed include his academic excellence especially in mathematics and reading. He is also good at sports including basketball and swimming. His lack of attention is caused by lack of proper rest, as he is not sleeping well. This could be because of watching TV after bed as he does after eating. The classroom environment should be organized with everything placed in its designated location to ease finding things. At home, the mother should provide procedures of things to do while getting ready for school. The teacher should also eliminate distractions in class (Rosenberg, Westling & Mcleaskey, 2007). Sumer smith: exceptionalities addressed involve her capability to work one-on-one with the teacher and other students. Additional information is that she is a below average student hence will need attention and adaptation from the teacher to ensure she catches up with the other students. This is indicated by her inability to process information, as she should at her age and grade. The teacher should make use of instructional technology that converts texts to sound, has images and colorful illustrations. One-on-one and peer

Authors, journalists,and artists throughout the Modern Chinese Essay

Authors, journalists,and artists throughout the Modern Chinese - Essay Example The reporting of incidents and occurrences using the invented methods like writing and picture taking improved journalism and made it advance to the level it is in the modern days. This paper will give a clear analysis on two pieces of journalism and literature that have become impressions of art In reviewing the works of Ah Cheng, he gives out his ideas about journalism, art, and literature in China. Ah Cheng came to the public and became famous in the 1980s. The period saw him as a member and one of the ‘seeking roots’ literary movement. In the movement, he was with other writers such as Han Shaogong and Mo Yan. Before Cheng became involved in writing and started writing fiction articles, he was fond of helping his father, Zhong Dianfei, who was a film critic. His father had composed the article, ‘The Art of Cinema’. Both Cheng and his father used ideas and influences that originated from Karl Marx, Hegel, the philosophies and ideas of Confucianism as well the classical Chinese literature writings such as the ‘The Book of Changes’. In the Festival by A Cheng, he draws inspiration from Kansha’s Observing Decapitation and Join the Crowd of Onlookers by Weiguan to depict different scenes in his work. Cheng uses vivid descriptions in his works to bring the reader closer to his scene in ways that place the reader as part of the events. The author takes his time to bring out even the minute details such as the description of drying up gun powder using iron skillets (Cheng 128). Cheng does not just mention that the individuals were drying up gun powder, but rather delves into the details to outline the process and bring the reader closer to the event. Such depictions are taken in positive light especially when the scene regards positive attributes that the society holds dear. In drawing a similarity to Kansha’s Decapitation, the festival has vivid descriptions of scenes that draw negative attitudes due to depictions of violence and

Does fall risk screening tools lead to reduction in falls in acute Article

Does fall risk screening tools lead to reduction in falls in acute hospital stays - Article Example In part 2, a review of literature identified from the database search on fall screening tools and their influence on falls during acute hospitalization would be presented, articulating factors that informed the choice of the topic, barriers to resolving underlying problems and the best practices to adopt so as to make fall screening tools effective. There has been an increase in conducting research in nursing due to the need for evidence-based professional practice. This has seen the emergence of evidence-based practice, EBP which, according to Polit and Beck (2012), entails the use of best clinical evidence to make patient care decisions. Such evidence would be informed through conducting research from a repertoire of information and knowledge which vary in validity and reliability. Nonetheless, disciplined research provides the most sophisticated approach to acquiring knowledge developed by humans over time. Cumulative findings from systematically and rigorously appraised research provide the basis for a majority of evidence hierarchies. Following this development, in seeking to evaluate whether fall risk screening tools reduce fall risks in acute hospital stays, I used a relevant database to search for reliable articles to provide relevant literature review. Indeed, healthcare literature on fall risk assessment, even when specifically limited to acute care hospital settings, exist in their abundance. Thus, the knowledge on importance for most appropriate literature for the study topic would be critical. I used PubMed (pubmed.gov), a free search engine that primarily accesses the Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online, MEDLINE database, for this search because of its comprehensive resourcefulness in online references for students (Polit & Beck, 2013). To begin with, I identified key words as guided by the topic of study. Thus, I came up with fall risk, assessment tool and

Financial circumstances Essay Example for Free

Financial circumstances Essay The company was a well growing established retailer industry in the market, how ever due to the scandal charges against Wickes. This caused a lot damage to company itself, it gave Wickes a bad status in the market and also they were black listed which meant that the company had a poor financial history so therefore in the future they will be refused on credit products and any other kind of financial circumstances. On the same day the company got black listed which was on the 25th June 1996, the announcement of the scandal was exposed to the public. The announcement of the scandal instantaneously affected the companys market value to 150 million pound and the stock was suspended from London market trading. So in order for Wickes to operate the business back to the way it was they refurbished its corporate management and also made emends with any shareholders and suppliers they had. This took the company a good two years of hard development. Bye the end of 1998 the companys profits increased by 653 million pound so therefore sales rise by 27%. They instituted three new stores and redesigned locations to include ornamental and garden commodities. The fraud scandal could have been preventable in many ways, Wickes became aware of this incident when scandal exteriors and auditors thoroughly checked the books and notice the major extensive changes. How ever this could have been notice at an early stage. Wickes could carry out monthly or yearly check ups on transactions account to notice any changes or misappropriate mistakes occurred in the business. Wickes could employee internal audit; internal audit will improve the function of the organisation and consulting action which will be intended to add value to the business, along side meeting the companys objectives. The organisations objectives will be achieved by bringing an efficient approach to evaluate and develop the efficiency of risk management, control and governance processes. Although to bring in an internal audit to check the operation of the business yearly will be expensive. In my opinion I personally think that Wickes will be able to pay for the expense of an internal audit as they are a fast established business which creates good profit. This will be beneficial for the business as a whole. Another suggestion to prevent the scandal could be to have good ethics and standards in place. The following charges which were made on the defendant were producing false statement and giving false information to the auditor (Arthur Andersen), so therefore Wickes could locate a system which contains a principle of governing morality and acceptable conduct. They could do this by producing a code of ethics which all the employees will have to fallow and can not be broken. Therefore the company will have strict rules and have control over their employees. This will help the business to be safe and prevent employee misbehaviour. An additional idea is to direct different position to different individuals; Henry Sweetbaum was the companys former chairman and chief executive. So therefore Wickes could have given two individuals them to positions instead of just giving it to one individual. If they were two individuals directed for them positions then they would have had an inter link with one another jobs and would have been aware of what each one is undertaking. So therefore I personally think that the incident of the scandal would have occurred earlier than later if the former chairman and chief executive roles were given to two individual instead of just one. In conclusion I personally think that the fraud scandal which arose in 1996 for Wickes was a huge turn around for the company and now due to this incident they will be more careful now in the future. Wickes will be more alert and aware of how to minimise the risks and the prospect which occur in a scandal. Referencing  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml?html=/archive/1996/10/17/cwick17.html

Integrated Marketing Communication Plan For Costa Coffee Marketing Essay

Integrated Marketing Communication Plan For Costa Coffee Marketing Essay The objective of this research is to provide an integrated marketing communications plan for Costa coffee. The strategic plan strives to boost the sales of the business and expand the market share of the business. The IMC plan for the products of Costa coffee target college students. The marketing objectives of the plan are to increase the purchases and uptake of Costa coffee products among college students. The strategy of providing discounts to college students ensures that these objectives are attainable. The business should also increase its market share and expand its business outlets by utilizing the marketing, advertising and promotions set out in this plan. Conversely, the structure of the communication objectives contained in this plan aims to reach the desired audience in an effective and cost effective manner. The access to information regarding the business should be made readily available to the target audience. The objectives of the plan, therefore, would be to provide as much information as required for customers in order to increase sales, build the business brand and increase its market share. Putting into consideration the fact that the target audiences are usually the hardest to reach, it is critical to align the strategies developed with realistic objectives in order to attain the desired goals. The objectives of the integrated marketing communications plan developed, therefore, connects both the desired objectives to the development strategies in order to arrive at the objectives set out. The achievement of the integrated marketing communications plan becomes attainable through the combination of various communication vehicles such as the internet, personal sales, advertisements and sales promotion. The selection of these vehicles is based on the target audiences and, therefore, identified as the most appropriate methods of communication to attain the planned objectives. It is noteworthy that the current approach adopted by the business in this respect does not comprehensively provide for the needs of the target population. The incentives adopted to achieve this approach work to enhance the current strategies in order to come up with strategies aimed at college students. It is, therefore, conclusive that the situations call for a strategic approach aimed at both marketing and communications. Bringing into the picture the fact that the target audiences are the most difficult to reach, the strategies adopted must be within the realm of the target audience. The communication strategies must also fall within the setup of this population in order to achieve effectiveness. Background Two brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa established costa coffee in 1971. The coffee was initially sold to the locals and subsequently they went ahead to open a coffee shop. Currently Costa coffee is among the fastest growing chain of coffee shops with numerous shops within the United Kingdom and a couple of other shops across the globe. The company went international in 1999 with an establishment in Dubai. In 1995, the business became a fully owned subsidiary after it was acquired by White bread and in 2009, the business acquired coffee heaven increasing its business operations by an additional 79 stores. Situational overview Marketing analysis Coffee is among the most preferred beverage among a large percentage of the inhabitants in the UK, and the preference extends globally. The rapid growth in the industry shows that the preference for coffee is ever growing and the market for the business increasing, as well. By the close of 2010, Costa coffee was the market leader in the business with the principal market share in the industry. Market environment Costa coffee will experience higher commodity prices in the future. Some factors affecting all the key market players include the prices of coffee and other commodities used by the businesses, technological advancement, and expansion and development techniques. The impact of these issues in the communications planning is eminent as it offers the Costa coffee customers products as well as valuable information regarding the products and promotional offers. Consumer analysis The primary consumers of the products of the business enterprise are coffee lovers of all ages. The products of Costa coffee have been developed to maintain the traditional taste to retain its current customers as well as attract more customers through the constant good quality coffee. The current market comprises of both local and international customers with a passion for the traditionally brewed coffee and exceptional services offered by Costa coffee. Competitor analysis Starbucks coffee is the strongest competitor to Costa coffee with a substantial share of the market. Even though, Costa coffee has a larger share of the market compared to Starbucks the difference in this market share is marginal and; therefore, the determination of the price of the products and consumer influence among the competitors is not set by any of the players but set by market forces. SWOT analysis Strengths The main strengths of the business include its brand and custom products. The business brand has a strong reputation for providing excellent products, and the brands association with the traditional coffee brewing methods by using good quality coffee contributes to the strength of the business. This gives the business an edge among its competitors. Weaknesses The most significant weaknesses of the business are the procedures required in opening a new outlet. Although these procedures act to maintain the brand quality, they hinder the rapid expansion of their business through the numerous procedural requirements. The complex procedures always deter the expansion process. Opportunities The business has operational opportunities in the international market, and this venture will see the business increase its revenue and market share. The presence of the business in the international arena is still lacking and, with investment in the international emerging markets through franchise, this becomes a viable option in ensuring global presence. Threats Potential threats to the business are the vulnerabilities to economics shifts such as the change in the price of coffee beans and legal issues. Target audience The target market for the integrated market and communications plan is the young population and more so the college student population. The populace makes up a considerable portion of the economy, and the disposable incomes of the target population fit the products offered by the business. Overview The brand building by the company has ensured that the business has stayed afloat and further facilitated the expansion of the business. The use of the business brand in marketing helps to attract customers into the business. The college students targeted by the plan will likely be attracted to Costa coffee by its brand and its products quality The adoption of a strategy to focus on the younger generation and especially the college students founded on the notion that since most of the stores are situated next to bookshops and colleges, the business is strategically positioned for the target audiences. The media vehicles used to reach this population, therefore, inclines towards the employment of technological approaches to communication and in this regard, the use of the internet preferred. The existing communications strategy used by the company involves the use of the internet, where the business has a website on its products but apart from that, the business does not have other marketing plans. The business website is not interactive and does not have a vibrant outlay, although the website provides links to the companies social networks the relationship between the social media and website are not well interlinked. Another development in the business is that, in 2006, the business sponsored the Costa book awards meant to celebrate storytelling and literary works, which further informs the modalities of choosing the target population and the strategies developed. Objectives The integrated marketing plan will achieve many marketing communications objectives that will act as a basis for the enhancement of the business activities of Costa coffee. The objectives of the plan are ascertainable and based on the SWOT analysis of the business. The general objective of the plan is to improve the brand name of Costa coffee. This becomes attainable through increasing the brand image, which will improve sales and increase the organizations market share. The objectives of the plan will vary in degree but in order to arrive at the primary objective of the plan, it is necessary to put into consideration objectives aimed at making fundamental and implementation decisions. The goals of the plan, therefore, include providing awareness to the target population through advertisement, facilitate the introduction, and build sales of new products such as the Costa gift card and the book awards, gain consumer trust and loyalty and offer excellent products to the customers. The objectives of the marketing communications would be to inform the customers by creating and stimulating interest and awareness. This will make the target customers know about the products offered and the availability of these products. In this regard and respect to the target population, therefore, the strategies employed must be trendy and appealing. Persuading the customers that the products of Costa coffee are the best value for them compared to the competitors also forms the objectives of marketing communications. Giving offers and providing a reward program for loyal customers should inform the strategy used in this achievement. Additionally reminding the existing customers of the products and the quality of the products of Costa coffee assists the business improve its sales, as the customers are informed of it presence. Messages PROBLEM HOW TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM MESSAGE None of the Costa coffee products are meant for the college students Provide students a discount on the Costa products Costa coffee values all its customers, especially the young generation Costa coffee does not give back to the society Provide scholarships and events such as book awards Costa coffee supports education. Major message to the customers MESSAGE NAME AND CORE MESSAGE MESSAGE SUBSTANTIATION Costa coffee values the contribution of the students to its business Costa coffee will introduce discounts to its customers especially to the college students in order to appeal to the younger generation. Costa coffee values education Costa coffee will establish a scholarship program for college students and provide other educational support such as book awards to students. Communications strategy The communication strategy employed aims at the development and implementation of communication plans to enhance the visibility of Costa coffee. The strategy works to generate positive media coverage through the interaction through the social media. This will in turn generate support from customers on the improvements to tailor the Costa coffee to the needs of its customers. The communication strategy also facilitates the encouragement of the business customers to support Costa coffee. Branding Branding promotes the recognition of a product or service of a provider and where the provider provides quality services the brand is remembered and serves to provide repeat customers for the brand. The tendency of individuals to adhere to familiarity is a common factor in the consumption habits and, therefore, the use of a familiar brand translates top positive reception of services and products even where the products are new. When a customer recognizes a brand that they have used previously they tend to choose that product over the others. Marketing communications mix To position the products of Costa coffee strategically, the approach used focuses on the emphasis on the quality of its products instead of the prices. It is evident that the quality of the products of Costa coffee remains at a high standard throughout the market. The mix adopted in the attainment of this includes the use of advertisements, sales promotion, personal selling, and public relations. Advertisement involves the use of paid and non-personal form of media communication. The use of advertisement achieves many objectives in this endeavor such as building the brand image of the business, and passing the relevant information to the target audience. The downside of this form of communication is the expenses attached to an advertisement, which are usually high. Comparatively material is the use of personal selling which uses personal interactions with the aim of fostering a good relationship with the customers. This method makes a representation of the long-term commitment of the business to its customers and facilitates the use of feedback. However, this method is more expensive compared to the other methods. Paul et al. (1999) provides that sales promotion, on the other hand, use a variety of styles ranging from promotions coupons, discounts and contests. This method attracts customers as well as provides them with purchase-oriented incentives. The barrier to this metho d is that it does not aim at the long term objectives of marketing communications. Public relations support the credibility of the business as it is a more believable form of marketing communication and uses a variety of features in approach such as sponsorships, news stories and features as well as promotions. This approach is relatively inexpensive and achieves many desirable results. Creative strategies The creative strategy employed in the achievement of the objectives of the integrated marketing communications plan required for effective advertising. The creative strategies stem from the marketing strategy of Costa coffee, take into consideration the opinion of the customers, and integrate the component of honesty. The creative strategies should not promise what cannot be delivered and must be formulated on realistic expectations. The creative strategies aim at providing value to the customers and a solution to their problems. The focus of advertising is to show the customers that Costa coffee has a product that is of interest to them and that the product is of a good quality. The communication to the customer revolves around their tastes and preferences. Media strategy The target market segment of the plan will be individuals who are attending college and who have a regular access to the internet. In this regard, the preferred media for the attainment of the objectives of the plan will rely majorly on the internet. The same possess a structure aimed at attracting the initial consumption of Costa coffee and subsequently work to retain these customers while attracting more. Ajasafe et al. (2011) discusses that the availability of internet access to this fraction of the target population through their institutions further supports the preference for the internet. Measurement and brand equity concepts The success of the integrated marketing communications plan will be based on the improvement of sales by Costa coffee. The awareness of the target population shall also form a contributory factor in the assessment of the plans success. The return on marketing investment shall be based on these two factors as well as the attitude of the target audience to brand. The key objective of the plan being to improve on the sales, the change in the sale quantities of business shall be a direct indicator of the plans success. Putting into consideration the fact that the strategies adopted cannot yield immediate results a period of three months should be allowed in order to determine the efficiency of the plan (Malcolm and Wilson 2011). If, at the end of this period, the sales of the business do not increase then the plan should be reevaluated to ensure the set objectives are met. Brand awareness is also a crucial objective of the plan as a good brand wills attract customers to purchase a product. The ultimate goal, therefore, is to improve the brand awareness and ensure a positive attitude by the customers toward these products. Below the line communications This method of communication implies the use of channels that do not involve mass media. These methods focus on both brand building and sales promotions. It allows for engagement with the target audience in a more interactive and personal way. The communication needs are in turn tailored to fit the requirements and the expectations of the audience. Promotion Promotion plays the key role in the marketing plan with an estimate of half of the budget. Promotional activities and provision of discounts on the goods is a highly effective method of marketing as it is engaging to the intended target group. The concept will increase the brand awareness as well as boost sales with the use of practical marketing, which allows consumers to have an emotion; experience with the brand. The discount programs shall be applied to stores located around colleges and areas with a large population of the target group. Gifts and coupons The use of gifts and coupons for customers will improve the sales of the business as well as its brand name by giving the customers incentives to purchase from the store. These concepts give customers a reason to choose the brand over the rest because the customers are rewarded. Public relations This is also noteworthy as the target audiences are made aware of the presence of the brand and the foodstuff available for them. The concept also becomes practical where the audiences are reminded of the presence of the brand in the market. This concept fits the case of Costa coffee as the target audience can be reached both efficiently and effectively. This is true because of the huge concentration of the target audience in the selected areas. Direct and Digital Magazines By using magazines, especially those oriented towards the college students the target audience can be provided information as well as education on the products of Costa coffee. The essence of these advertisements is to drive the audience towards purchasing the advertised products. The target audiences in this case are more responsive to magazines that talk about contemporary issues and technology magazines, as well as educational magazines. This implies, therefore, that in order to reach the population it is imperative to advertise in these magazines. Internet The use of the internet is the most extensive form of communication aimed at achieving the objective of this plan. The reason the internet is the most efficient and practical vehicle for communication is that it has several modes of communication within it ranging from internet advertisements, social media, websites, and blogs. The internet is also comparatively cheaper than the other methods of communication such as promotions. The internet methods are also instant and the information is made available in a timely manner. It is also noteworthy that the target population is in constant touch with the internet world and as such a lo9t of emphasis should be placed on internet communication. The vast array of channels of internet communication also provides massive coverage of the target population. Integration The business brand will play a central role in the integration of various communication methods to be used in the plan. The brand will act as a signature for the business, and whichever method is applied in the communication strategy the contents of the communication must include the business brand of Costa coffee for identification of the business (Chris 2010). JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC PROMOTION GIFTS AND COUPONS PUBLIC RELATIONS MAGAZINES INTERNET Tactical calendar Budget The largest  portion  of the estimated budget is set for promotions  which results to 50% of the estimated budget. The decision to allocate this large percentage to promotion stems from the massive contributions of promotions towards the attainment of the planned objectives. The second budget estimate is set of advertisements and takes a percentage of 15% of the estimated budget (John 2007). The contribution of advertisements to the objective is also substantial, and the cost of putting up advertisements is higher than the other options, therefore, inflating the cost of advertisements. Other estimates in the budgeting process include public relations, which require 15% of the estimated budget. Public relations also provide a good platform in the marketing and communications strategy and, therefore, require a good budget portion. The emphasis on this vehicle culminates from the anticipated impact of this vehicle on the outcome of the integrated marketing communications plan. Gif t, coupons, and the use of the internet will both take an equal allocation of the remaining budget.

Gherkin and Pomegranate Cultivation

Gherkin and Pomegranate Cultivation Abstract Horticulture is an important component of agriculture accounting for a very significant share in the Indian economy. Rising consumer income and changing lifestyles are creating bigger markets for high-value horticultural products in India as well as throughout the world. Among these, the most important high-value export products are fruits and vegetables. This study was conducted to analyze the comparative advantage and competitiveness of pomegranate and gherkin which are the important foreign exchange earner among fruit and vegetable crops exported from India. The primary data was collected from Tumkur and Bijapur district of Karnataka, India and secondary data was collected from concerned government institutions, APEDA and also from exporters of fruits and vegetables. The Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM) was selected as the analytical tool to analyse the export competitiveness, comparative advantage, and the degree of government interventions in the production and export of gherkin and pomegranate. The policy distortions were measured through indicators of PAM. Garret ranking technique was used to analyse the constraints in the production and export of the selected crops. EPC of Gherkin (0.5) and pomegranate (0.45) values which found to be less than one indicates that producers are not protected through policy interventions. Whereas DRC (0.27 0.28) and PCR (0.43 0.59) values of Gherkin and Pomegranate respectively shows positive, social as well as private profit which indicates that, India has a competitive and comparative advantage in their production. The result for Garret ranking in case of gherkin shows that skilled labour and lack of superior quality are the major constraints in production and export of gherkin respectively. In case of pomegranate non availability of skilled labour, high incidence of pest and diseases, lack of transportation facilities, high residual effect of pesticide are the major constrain in production and export. The overall result shows that the cultivation as well as export of gherkin and pomegranate is economically profitable and efficient. Key Words: Gherkin, Pomegranate, PAM, EPC and DRC List of Acronyms Variable Definition APEDA Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority CIF Cost Insurance and Freight Crores 10 million DRC Domestic Resource Cost EPC Effective Protection Coefficient EU European Union FAOSTAT Food and Agriculture Organization Statistics FOB Free On Border FYM Farm Yard Manure ha Hectares HEIA Horticulture Export Improvement Association kg Kilogram MHA Million Hectare MT Million Tons NHB National Horticulture Board NPCI Nominal Protection Coefficient on Inputs NPCO Nominal Protection Coefficient on Outputs NPV Net Present Value PAM Policy Analysis Matrix PCR Private Cost Ratio INR Indian Rupees UAE United Arab Emirates UK United Kingdom UNCOMTRADE United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics UNFAO United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization USA United States of America 1. Introduction 1.1 Background Indian agriculture is vested with the herculean responsibility of feeding over more than one billion people. Out of total, 72% of Indias population live in rural areas, further three-fourth of the rural populations depend on agriculture and allied activities for their livelihoods. The present growth in agriculture in India is hassle with problems most importantly, agricultural growth slowed down to 2.1% between 1998-99 and 2004-05. It is largely due to a decline in the food grain sector that grew at merely 0.6%. Given the high dependence of the poor on agriculture, the stagnation in this sector is currently threatening to stall poverty reduction in India (Reddy, 2007). Given the present scenario, the immediate question to be addressed is how agricultural growth can be accelerated. The question can be answered through by diversifying the consumption pattern towards high value agricultural commodities in general and high value horticultural products in particular such as fruits and vegetables. In recent years there has been a great deal of interest among policymakers and trade analysts in the role of horticultural products as a principle means of agricultural diversification and foreign exchange earnings in developing countries. Horticultural products have high income elasticity of demand as income goes up the demand raises rapidly. It grows especially in middle and high income developing countries. As people are more cautious on health and nutrition, there is a paradigm shift from high fat, high cholesterol foods such as meat and live stock products to low fat and low cholesterol foods such as fruits and vegetables. As a result, the world has change d its attention towards high value agricultural products. Hence, it is crucial to be competitive in the world market to reap the potential gains of increased and growing world demand for horticultural products such as fruits and vegetables. Thus, the purpose of the present study attempts to evaluate the consequences of international trade and competitiveness of Indian horticulture with special reference to pomegranate and gherkin crops. In the recent past, these two crops got high export potential and earned good foreign exchange. 1.2 Studies on export of fruits and vegetables There are many studies related to export of horticultural crops especially fruits and vegetables from India. Chiniwar (2009) explained the numerous opportunities and challenges of the horticulture sector and observed that there is a tremendous potential for Indian pomegranates in the global market. He examined the growth of pomegranate exports from India. The study revealed that the growth of pomegranate exports from India is moderate in comparision to the potential for its exports. Tamanna et al. (1999) examined the export potential of selected fruits from India by using Nominal Protection Coefficient (NPC). The results indicate that the exports of Indian fruits are highly competitive in the world market. Nalini et al. (2008) observed that India has made tremendous progress in the export of cucumber and gherkin products during the past 15 years (1990-2005). The export has increased by about 129 times with an impressive annual compound growth rate of 37.46 percent, as against only 4. 38 percent in the world market. An increasing and high value of Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) and a positive and increasing value for Revealed Symmetric Comparative Advantage (RSCA) have indicated high potential for their export. One percent increase in volume of international trade in cucumber and gherkin may increase the demand from India by 5.96 percent. This indicates that India is highly competitive in the export of cucumber and gherkin. It has ample scope to further increase its export. Gulati et al. (1994) analyzed the export competitiveness of selected agricultural commodities and identified the constraints in the export of fresh fruits, vegetables, processed fruits and vegetables. The above studies are related to export performance, growth, and constraints of fruits and vegetables. Most of these studies focused on aspects pertaining to export of fruits and vegetables. There are no studies on export policy especially related to efficiency and comparative advantage in world market. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to analyze the export competitiveness of pomegranate and gherkin by using Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM). The study has a high scope because competitiveness has become a key issue in the international market for export development of fruits and vegetables. 1.3 Research objectives In the present study, the export competitiveness of high value horticultural crops of India is analyzed. To be very precise, the study analyzes the competitiveness of gherkin and pomegranate in the world market. It also compares the advantages and constraints in the export of these crops with the following objectives and proposed hypothesis, which will be tested based on the results and conclusion. Specific objectives To assess the export competitiveness of Gherkin and Pomegranate To examine the production and export constraints of Gherkin and Pomegranate Hypothesis Export of gherkin and pomegranate are competitive in international markets 1.4 Structure of the thesis The study contains the results of the analysis of export competitiveness of horticultural crops in India. In the present study, opportunities are analyzed, constraints in production and export of gherkins and pomegranates from India. We further analyze the competitiveness and comparative advantage of these two crops in international market. The detailed information of this analysis is discussed in the following sections of the study. The first section of the thesis gives us an introduction and background on the nature of the problem, facts on the dynamics and underlying causes diversifying the consumption pattern of high value horticultural commodities. Further, a brief overview of existing studies on Indian agricultural and horticultural growth, export performance, and constraints will be discussed. The research question is broken down into specific objectives and a possible hypothesis has been put forth. The second section of the thesis will give a general overview of fruit and vegetable scenario in the world as well as in India. The section also explains the importance of selected fruit and vegetable by considering production, export and foreign exchange earnings which will help us to understand the export competitiveness of these crops from India. The third section deals with methodological framework which deals with the concepts and competitiveness of high value horticultural crops from India focusing on the application of PAM model for the study. In the same chapter, the current literature and outline of the major definitions for competitiveness and comparative advantage are studied. The above proposed model will be used as a tool to address the research objectives followed by data description. Fourth section highlights the findings of the research from the proposed model using collected information on pomegranate and gherkin cultivation, and their export. Finally, the proposed hypothesis is tested and the results inferred. The final section summarizes the whole research findings and provides meaningful policy implications. 2. Scenario of fruits and vegetables in India and the world 2.1 World scenario of fruits and vegetables 2.1.1 High value agricultural production Rising consumer income and changing lifestyles are creating bigger markets for high value agricultural products throughout the world. Among these, the most important high value export sector is horticulture, especially fruits and vegetables. The growing markets for these products present an opportunity for the farmers of developing countries to diversify their production out of staple grains and raise their income. Annual growth rates on the order of 8 to 10 percent in high value agricultural products is promising development (Fig.1), as the production, processing and marketing of these products create a lot of needed employment in rural areas. The rapid growth in high value exports has been part of fundamental and broad reaching trend towards globalization of the agro food system. Dietary changes, trade reform and technical changes in the food industry have contributed to the growth of high value agriculture and trade (World Bank, 2008). 2.1.2 World production of fruit and vegetables The production of fruit and vegetables all over the world grew by 30 percent between 1980 to 1990 and by 56 percent between 1990 to 2003. Much of this growth occurred in China where production grew up by 134 percent in 1980 and climbed to 200 percent by 1990 (UNFAO 2003). At present the world production of fruits and vegetables reached to 512 MT and 946.7MT respectively (Table 1 5). Vegetables: China is currently the worlds largest producer of vegetables, with the production 448.9 MT with an area of 23.9 MHA (47%) (Table 1), whereas India is in the 2nd position with the production of 125.8 MT with an area of 7.8 MHA (13%) followed by USA (4%), Turkey (3%) etc (Indian Horticulture Database, 2008) (Fig.2). Among the vegetable crops gherkin is considered for the study as it is one of the most important vegetable all over the world. Table 2 shows the international production of cucumber and gherkin from different parts of the world during 2007-08. China, Turkey, Iran, Russia and USA are the world largest producers of cucumber and gherkin (Table 3), whereas India position in the production is 34th but it reached 1st (Table 3) and 55th (Table 4) position in export of provisionally preserved and fresh cucumber gherkin respectively. Table 1 Major vegetables producing countries in the world (2007-08) Country Area(000 ha) Production(000 MT) Productivity(MT/ha) China 23936 448983 19 India 7803 125887 16 USA 1333 38075 29 Turkey 996 24454 25 Russia 970 16516 17 Egypt 598 16041 27 Iran 641 15993 25 Italy 528 13587 26 Spain 379 12676 33 Japan 433 11938 28 Others 16957 222625 13 Total 54573 946774 Source: Indian Horticulture Database (2008) Table 2 International production of cucumber and gherkin (2007-08) Country Production (MT) Share (%) China 28062000 62.9 Turkey 1875919 4.21 Iran, Islamic republic 1720000 3.86 Russian federation 1410000 3.16 USA 920000 2.06 Ukraine 775000 1.74 Japan 634000 1.42 Egypt 615000 1.38 Indonesia 600000 1.34 Spain 510000 1.14 Mexico 500000 1.12 Poland 492000 1.10 Iraq 480000 1.08 Netherland 445000 1.00 India 120000 0.27 Others 5452024 12.22 World 44610943 100 Source: Author, FAO (2008) Table 3 Major exporting countries of fresh cucumber and gherkin (2007) Country Value (USD) Share (%) Spain 557088 30.13 Mexico 437369 23.65 Netherland 419824 22.70 Canada 81707 4.42 Germany 44437 2.40 Turkey 40300 2.18 Greece 38920 2.10 Iran 27768 1.50 Belgium 25361 1.37 USA 16313 0.88 India 235 0.01 Others 159815 8.64 World 1849137 Source: Data from Agricultural and Processed food products Export development Authority (APEDA), India. Table 4 Major exporting countries of preserved cucumber and gherkin Country Value (USD) Share (%) India 33476 49.39 China 16754 24.72 Turkey 4193 6.19 Netherlands 3397 5.01 Belgium 2670 3.94 Vietnam 40300 2.11 Sri Lanka 1003 1.48 Germany 925 1.37 Spain 596 0.88 USA 992 0.87 World 65040 Source: U.N COMTRADE (2007) Fruits: World fruit production has steadily risen for the past four years (see Appendix 3 ). Table 5 shows the largest fresh fruit producers from different countries during 2007-08. China is the worlds largest fruit producer, producing 19 percent of the world fruits. India ranks second in the list of world producer accounting 12 percent of the worlds production followed by Brazil, where 7 percent of the worlds fruit was grown. (Figure 3) As production is increasing in China at alarming rate compare to other top producing countries. Production growth almost averaged 6 percent per year in China, while production growth in India averaged 2.73 percent per year. The EU experienced the lower annual growth rate of 0.89 percent. Whereas, the production in USA and Brazil has been relatively constant over the period, with average annual growth rates of 0.61 percent for the former and 0.34 percent for the later. Other countries Mexico, South Africa and Chile have experienced slightly higher av erage annual production growth rates of 2.12, 2.56 and 1.3 percent respectively over the same period (FAOSTAT 2008). Among all fruits pomegranate is considered for the present study. Figure 4 shows India is the world largest producer of pomegranate with 900 MT (36%) followed by Iran (31%), Iraq (3%), USA (4%) etc. Over the years Indias export rate for pomegranate has grown steadily to worth of INR0.61 million (US$13741) in 2007-08 with the share of 1.2 percent (Table 6). Table 5 Major fruit producing countries in the world (2007-08) Country Area(000 ha) Production(000 MT) Productivity(MT/ha) China 9587 94418 10 India 5775 63503 11 Brazil 1777 36818 21 USA 1168 24962 21 Italy 1246 17891 14 Spain 1835 15293 8 Mexico 1100 15041 14 Turkey 1049 12390 12 Iran 1256 12102 10 Indonesia 846 11615 14 Others 22841 208036 9 Total 48481 512070 Source: FAO Indian Horticulture Database (2008) Table 6 Pomegranate export from different parts of the world (2007) Country Value (USD) Share (%) Thailand 172781 15.06 Spain 138911 12.11 Vietnam 84532 7.37 Mexico 67739 5.91 Netherlands 63858 5.57 Madagascar 53822 4.69 Israel 45219 3.94 Uzbekistan 44128 3.85 Colombia 40459 3.53 Azerbaijan 37977 3.31 France 36975 3.22 Germany 17750 1.55 India 13741 1.20 Others 309565 27.45 World 1127457 100 Source: Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), India 2.2 Scenario of fruits and vegetables in India. Horticulture is an important component of agriculture accounting for a very significant share in the Indian economy. It is identified as one of the potential sector for harnessing Indias competitive advantage in international trade. Further it prepares India to achieve an overall trade target of 1% or more in the share of world trade. Meanwhile, making the country self-sufficient in the last few decades, horticulture has played a very significant role in earning foreign exchange through export. Horticultural crops cover approximately 8.5 percent of total cropped area (20 MHA) (Table 7) with annual production of 207 MT, and productivity of 10.3 MT per hectare during the year 2007-08 (FAO Indian Horticulture Database 2008). Among the horticultural crops fruits and vegetables play an important role, whereas exports of fruits and vegetables have increased over the years (Table 8). During 2004-05 export of fruits and vegetables was INR 13637.13 million as against INR 24116.57 million during 2006-07 (APEDA, 2008) Table 7 Area, production and productivity of horticultural crops in India Year Area (MHA) Production (MT) Productivity (MT/ha) ) 2001-02 16.6 145.8 8.8 2002-03 16.3 144.4 8.9 2003-04 19.2 153.3 21 2004-05 21.1 170.8 8.1 2005-06 18.7 182.8 9.8 2006-07 19.4 191.8 9.9 2007-08 20.1 207.0 10.3 Source: FAO Indian Horticulture Database (2008) Table 8 Export of horticultural produce in India Products 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Quantity Value Quantity Value Quantity Value Floriculture seeds 34496 2871 42659 3922 50048 7713 Fresh Fruits vegetables 1296530 13637 1465040 16587 1983873 24117 Processed fruits vegetables 325293 9614 501826 13595 549949 17316 Total 1656319 261227 2009525 341051 258387 491459 Source: APEDA, India Note: Qty: MT, value : Million INR Vegetables: In vegetable production, India is next to China with a production of 125.8 million tonnes from 7.8 million hectares with a share of 13 percent in relation to world production (Table 9). The per capital consumption of vegetables is 120 grams per day (APEDA 2009). In case of Fresh vegetable Indias export has been increased from INR 433.14 Crore in 2006-07 to Rs 489.49 Crore in 2007-08. Major Export Destinations of these vegetables are UAE, UK, Nepal, and Saudi Arabia. (APEDA, 2009) Table 9 Area, production and productivity of vegetable crops in India Year Area (MHA) Production (MT) Productivity (MT/ha) ) 2001-02 6156 88622 14.4 2002-03 6092 84815 13.9 2003-04 6082 88334 14.5 2004-05 6744 101246 15.0 2005-06 7213 111399 15.4 2006-07 7584 115011 15.2 2007-08 7803 125887 16.1 Source: FAO Indian Horticulture Database (2008) Among all vegetables gherkin is considered for the present study due to following reasons. Indias export of gherkin has been steadily increased since 1997-98. It accounts for 24,490 tonnes of gherkins having an export potential of INR 50.27 crore as against 35,242 tonnes worth of INR 69.86 crore in 1999-2000 (Venkatesh, 2003). In recent year gherkin export has been increased to 61.5 million tonnes with a trade value of INR1465.5 million during 2007-08 (UNFAO Export Data, 2009). 2.2.1 Production and export importance of gherkin in India Gherkin crop is being selected for the present study. It is regarded as HEIA crop especially a hybrid crop. Gherkin cultivation and processing started in India in the early 90s and presently cultivated over 19,500 acres in the three southern states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Although gherkin can grow virtually in any part of the country, the ideal conditions required for growth prevail in these three states where the growing season extends throughout the year. It requires adequate water and temperature between 15-36 degree centigrade and the right type of soil. The crop takes 85 days to reach the required maturity level. Productivity is approximately four to five tonnes per acre and the best months are from February to March followed by June to August. India is a major exporter of provisionally preserved gherkin. Table 10 11 shows the cucumber and gherkin export from India. In India, Karnataka stands first in export, where cultivation is steadily growing since 2001 -02 accounting for a worth of INR 1200 million. During 2006-07 gherkins accounts to INR 3133 million which has been exported (Table 12). Table 10 Cucumber and gherkin exports from India (2007-08) Country Value( Million INR) Quantity (Tonnes) Share (%) ) UAE 1.96 142.75 17.55 Bangladesh 1.92 290.00 17.17 Netherland 1.78 93.10 15.92 Russia 1.66 83.50 14.91 Estonia 0.80 43.94 7.17 Nepal 0.75 74.42 6.75 Oman 0.75 70.00 6.74 Spain 0.55 31.82 4.95 France 0.47 20.21 4.27 Others 0.51 26.42 4.56 Total 11.20 876.18 100 Source: Gherkin and Pomegranate Cultivation Gherkin and Pomegranate Cultivation Abstract Horticulture is an important component of agriculture accounting for a very significant share in the Indian economy. Rising consumer income and changing lifestyles are creating bigger markets for high-value horticultural products in India as well as throughout the world. Among these, the most important high-value export products are fruits and vegetables. This study was conducted to analyze the comparative advantage and competitiveness of pomegranate and gherkin which are the important foreign exchange earner among fruit and vegetable crops exported from India. The primary data was collected from Tumkur and Bijapur district of Karnataka, India and secondary data was collected from concerned government institutions, APEDA and also from exporters of fruits and vegetables. The Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM) was selected as the analytical tool to analyse the export competitiveness, comparative advantage, and the degree of government interventions in the production and export of gherkin and pomegranate. The policy distortions were measured through indicators of PAM. Garret ranking technique was used to analyse the constraints in the production and export of the selected crops. EPC of Gherkin (0.5) and pomegranate (0.45) values which found to be less than one indicates that producers are not protected through policy interventions. Whereas DRC (0.27 0.28) and PCR (0.43 0.59) values of Gherkin and Pomegranate respectively shows positive, social as well as private profit which indicates that, India has a competitive and comparative advantage in their production. The result for Garret ranking in case of gherkin shows that skilled labour and lack of superior quality are the major constraints in production and export of gherkin respectively. In case of pomegranate non availability of skilled labour, high incidence of pest and diseases, lack of transportation facilities, high residual effect of pesticide are the major constrain in production and export. The overall result shows that the cultivation as well as export of gherkin and pomegranate is economically profitable and efficient. Key Words: Gherkin, Pomegranate, PAM, EPC and DRC List of Acronyms Variable Definition APEDA Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority CIF Cost Insurance and Freight Crores 10 million DRC Domestic Resource Cost EPC Effective Protection Coefficient EU European Union FAOSTAT Food and Agriculture Organization Statistics FOB Free On Border FYM Farm Yard Manure ha Hectares HEIA Horticulture Export Improvement Association kg Kilogram MHA Million Hectare MT Million Tons NHB National Horticulture Board NPCI Nominal Protection Coefficient on Inputs NPCO Nominal Protection Coefficient on Outputs NPV Net Present Value PAM Policy Analysis Matrix PCR Private Cost Ratio INR Indian Rupees UAE United Arab Emirates UK United Kingdom UNCOMTRADE United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics UNFAO United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization USA United States of America 1. Introduction 1.1 Background Indian agriculture is vested with the herculean responsibility of feeding over more than one billion people. Out of total, 72% of Indias population live in rural areas, further three-fourth of the rural populations depend on agriculture and allied activities for their livelihoods. The present growth in agriculture in India is hassle with problems most importantly, agricultural growth slowed down to 2.1% between 1998-99 and 2004-05. It is largely due to a decline in the food grain sector that grew at merely 0.6%. Given the high dependence of the poor on agriculture, the stagnation in this sector is currently threatening to stall poverty reduction in India (Reddy, 2007). Given the present scenario, the immediate question to be addressed is how agricultural growth can be accelerated. The question can be answered through by diversifying the consumption pattern towards high value agricultural commodities in general and high value horticultural products in particular such as fruits and vegetables. In recent years there has been a great deal of interest among policymakers and trade analysts in the role of horticultural products as a principle means of agricultural diversification and foreign exchange earnings in developing countries. Horticultural products have high income elasticity of demand as income goes up the demand raises rapidly. It grows especially in middle and high income developing countries. As people are more cautious on health and nutrition, there is a paradigm shift from high fat, high cholesterol foods such as meat and live stock products to low fat and low cholesterol foods such as fruits and vegetables. As a result, the world has change d its attention towards high value agricultural products. Hence, it is crucial to be competitive in the world market to reap the potential gains of increased and growing world demand for horticultural products such as fruits and vegetables. Thus, the purpose of the present study attempts to evaluate the consequences of international trade and competitiveness of Indian horticulture with special reference to pomegranate and gherkin crops. In the recent past, these two crops got high export potential and earned good foreign exchange. 1.2 Studies on export of fruits and vegetables There are many studies related to export of horticultural crops especially fruits and vegetables from India. Chiniwar (2009) explained the numerous opportunities and challenges of the horticulture sector and observed that there is a tremendous potential for Indian pomegranates in the global market. He examined the growth of pomegranate exports from India. The study revealed that the growth of pomegranate exports from India is moderate in comparision to the potential for its exports. Tamanna et al. (1999) examined the export potential of selected fruits from India by using Nominal Protection Coefficient (NPC). The results indicate that the exports of Indian fruits are highly competitive in the world market. Nalini et al. (2008) observed that India has made tremendous progress in the export of cucumber and gherkin products during the past 15 years (1990-2005). The export has increased by about 129 times with an impressive annual compound growth rate of 37.46 percent, as against only 4. 38 percent in the world market. An increasing and high value of Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) and a positive and increasing value for Revealed Symmetric Comparative Advantage (RSCA) have indicated high potential for their export. One percent increase in volume of international trade in cucumber and gherkin may increase the demand from India by 5.96 percent. This indicates that India is highly competitive in the export of cucumber and gherkin. It has ample scope to further increase its export. Gulati et al. (1994) analyzed the export competitiveness of selected agricultural commodities and identified the constraints in the export of fresh fruits, vegetables, processed fruits and vegetables. The above studies are related to export performance, growth, and constraints of fruits and vegetables. Most of these studies focused on aspects pertaining to export of fruits and vegetables. There are no studies on export policy especially related to efficiency and comparative advantage in world market. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to analyze the export competitiveness of pomegranate and gherkin by using Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM). The study has a high scope because competitiveness has become a key issue in the international market for export development of fruits and vegetables. 1.3 Research objectives In the present study, the export competitiveness of high value horticultural crops of India is analyzed. To be very precise, the study analyzes the competitiveness of gherkin and pomegranate in the world market. It also compares the advantages and constraints in the export of these crops with the following objectives and proposed hypothesis, which will be tested based on the results and conclusion. Specific objectives To assess the export competitiveness of Gherkin and Pomegranate To examine the production and export constraints of Gherkin and Pomegranate Hypothesis Export of gherkin and pomegranate are competitive in international markets 1.4 Structure of the thesis The study contains the results of the analysis of export competitiveness of horticultural crops in India. In the present study, opportunities are analyzed, constraints in production and export of gherkins and pomegranates from India. We further analyze the competitiveness and comparative advantage of these two crops in international market. The detailed information of this analysis is discussed in the following sections of the study. The first section of the thesis gives us an introduction and background on the nature of the problem, facts on the dynamics and underlying causes diversifying the consumption pattern of high value horticultural commodities. Further, a brief overview of existing studies on Indian agricultural and horticultural growth, export performance, and constraints will be discussed. The research question is broken down into specific objectives and a possible hypothesis has been put forth. The second section of the thesis will give a general overview of fruit and vegetable scenario in the world as well as in India. The section also explains the importance of selected fruit and vegetable by considering production, export and foreign exchange earnings which will help us to understand the export competitiveness of these crops from India. The third section deals with methodological framework which deals with the concepts and competitiveness of high value horticultural crops from India focusing on the application of PAM model for the study. In the same chapter, the current literature and outline of the major definitions for competitiveness and comparative advantage are studied. The above proposed model will be used as a tool to address the research objectives followed by data description. Fourth section highlights the findings of the research from the proposed model using collected information on pomegranate and gherkin cultivation, and their export. Finally, the proposed hypothesis is tested and the results inferred. The final section summarizes the whole research findings and provides meaningful policy implications. 2. Scenario of fruits and vegetables in India and the world 2.1 World scenario of fruits and vegetables 2.1.1 High value agricultural production Rising consumer income and changing lifestyles are creating bigger markets for high value agricultural products throughout the world. Among these, the most important high value export sector is horticulture, especially fruits and vegetables. The growing markets for these products present an opportunity for the farmers of developing countries to diversify their production out of staple grains and raise their income. Annual growth rates on the order of 8 to 10 percent in high value agricultural products is promising development (Fig.1), as the production, processing and marketing of these products create a lot of needed employment in rural areas. The rapid growth in high value exports has been part of fundamental and broad reaching trend towards globalization of the agro food system. Dietary changes, trade reform and technical changes in the food industry have contributed to the growth of high value agriculture and trade (World Bank, 2008). 2.1.2 World production of fruit and vegetables The production of fruit and vegetables all over the world grew by 30 percent between 1980 to 1990 and by 56 percent between 1990 to 2003. Much of this growth occurred in China where production grew up by 134 percent in 1980 and climbed to 200 percent by 1990 (UNFAO 2003). At present the world production of fruits and vegetables reached to 512 MT and 946.7MT respectively (Table 1 5). Vegetables: China is currently the worlds largest producer of vegetables, with the production 448.9 MT with an area of 23.9 MHA (47%) (Table 1), whereas India is in the 2nd position with the production of 125.8 MT with an area of 7.8 MHA (13%) followed by USA (4%), Turkey (3%) etc (Indian Horticulture Database, 2008) (Fig.2). Among the vegetable crops gherkin is considered for the study as it is one of the most important vegetable all over the world. Table 2 shows the international production of cucumber and gherkin from different parts of the world during 2007-08. China, Turkey, Iran, Russia and USA are the world largest producers of cucumber and gherkin (Table 3), whereas India position in the production is 34th but it reached 1st (Table 3) and 55th (Table 4) position in export of provisionally preserved and fresh cucumber gherkin respectively. Table 1 Major vegetables producing countries in the world (2007-08) Country Area(000 ha) Production(000 MT) Productivity(MT/ha) China 23936 448983 19 India 7803 125887 16 USA 1333 38075 29 Turkey 996 24454 25 Russia 970 16516 17 Egypt 598 16041 27 Iran 641 15993 25 Italy 528 13587 26 Spain 379 12676 33 Japan 433 11938 28 Others 16957 222625 13 Total 54573 946774 Source: Indian Horticulture Database (2008) Table 2 International production of cucumber and gherkin (2007-08) Country Production (MT) Share (%) China 28062000 62.9 Turkey 1875919 4.21 Iran, Islamic republic 1720000 3.86 Russian federation 1410000 3.16 USA 920000 2.06 Ukraine 775000 1.74 Japan 634000 1.42 Egypt 615000 1.38 Indonesia 600000 1.34 Spain 510000 1.14 Mexico 500000 1.12 Poland 492000 1.10 Iraq 480000 1.08 Netherland 445000 1.00 India 120000 0.27 Others 5452024 12.22 World 44610943 100 Source: Author, FAO (2008) Table 3 Major exporting countries of fresh cucumber and gherkin (2007) Country Value (USD) Share (%) Spain 557088 30.13 Mexico 437369 23.65 Netherland 419824 22.70 Canada 81707 4.42 Germany 44437 2.40 Turkey 40300 2.18 Greece 38920 2.10 Iran 27768 1.50 Belgium 25361 1.37 USA 16313 0.88 India 235 0.01 Others 159815 8.64 World 1849137 Source: Data from Agricultural and Processed food products Export development Authority (APEDA), India. Table 4 Major exporting countries of preserved cucumber and gherkin Country Value (USD) Share (%) India 33476 49.39 China 16754 24.72 Turkey 4193 6.19 Netherlands 3397 5.01 Belgium 2670 3.94 Vietnam 40300 2.11 Sri Lanka 1003 1.48 Germany 925 1.37 Spain 596 0.88 USA 992 0.87 World 65040 Source: U.N COMTRADE (2007) Fruits: World fruit production has steadily risen for the past four years (see Appendix 3 ). Table 5 shows the largest fresh fruit producers from different countries during 2007-08. China is the worlds largest fruit producer, producing 19 percent of the world fruits. India ranks second in the list of world producer accounting 12 percent of the worlds production followed by Brazil, where 7 percent of the worlds fruit was grown. (Figure 3) As production is increasing in China at alarming rate compare to other top producing countries. Production growth almost averaged 6 percent per year in China, while production growth in India averaged 2.73 percent per year. The EU experienced the lower annual growth rate of 0.89 percent. Whereas, the production in USA and Brazil has been relatively constant over the period, with average annual growth rates of 0.61 percent for the former and 0.34 percent for the later. Other countries Mexico, South Africa and Chile have experienced slightly higher av erage annual production growth rates of 2.12, 2.56 and 1.3 percent respectively over the same period (FAOSTAT 2008). Among all fruits pomegranate is considered for the present study. Figure 4 shows India is the world largest producer of pomegranate with 900 MT (36%) followed by Iran (31%), Iraq (3%), USA (4%) etc. Over the years Indias export rate for pomegranate has grown steadily to worth of INR0.61 million (US$13741) in 2007-08 with the share of 1.2 percent (Table 6). Table 5 Major fruit producing countries in the world (2007-08) Country Area(000 ha) Production(000 MT) Productivity(MT/ha) China 9587 94418 10 India 5775 63503 11 Brazil 1777 36818 21 USA 1168 24962 21 Italy 1246 17891 14 Spain 1835 15293 8 Mexico 1100 15041 14 Turkey 1049 12390 12 Iran 1256 12102 10 Indonesia 846 11615 14 Others 22841 208036 9 Total 48481 512070 Source: FAO Indian Horticulture Database (2008) Table 6 Pomegranate export from different parts of the world (2007) Country Value (USD) Share (%) Thailand 172781 15.06 Spain 138911 12.11 Vietnam 84532 7.37 Mexico 67739 5.91 Netherlands 63858 5.57 Madagascar 53822 4.69 Israel 45219 3.94 Uzbekistan 44128 3.85 Colombia 40459 3.53 Azerbaijan 37977 3.31 France 36975 3.22 Germany 17750 1.55 India 13741 1.20 Others 309565 27.45 World 1127457 100 Source: Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), India 2.2 Scenario of fruits and vegetables in India. Horticulture is an important component of agriculture accounting for a very significant share in the Indian economy. It is identified as one of the potential sector for harnessing Indias competitive advantage in international trade. Further it prepares India to achieve an overall trade target of 1% or more in the share of world trade. Meanwhile, making the country self-sufficient in the last few decades, horticulture has played a very significant role in earning foreign exchange through export. Horticultural crops cover approximately 8.5 percent of total cropped area (20 MHA) (Table 7) with annual production of 207 MT, and productivity of 10.3 MT per hectare during the year 2007-08 (FAO Indian Horticulture Database 2008). Among the horticultural crops fruits and vegetables play an important role, whereas exports of fruits and vegetables have increased over the years (Table 8). During 2004-05 export of fruits and vegetables was INR 13637.13 million as against INR 24116.57 million during 2006-07 (APEDA, 2008) Table 7 Area, production and productivity of horticultural crops in India Year Area (MHA) Production (MT) Productivity (MT/ha) ) 2001-02 16.6 145.8 8.8 2002-03 16.3 144.4 8.9 2003-04 19.2 153.3 21 2004-05 21.1 170.8 8.1 2005-06 18.7 182.8 9.8 2006-07 19.4 191.8 9.9 2007-08 20.1 207.0 10.3 Source: FAO Indian Horticulture Database (2008) Table 8 Export of horticultural produce in India Products 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Quantity Value Quantity Value Quantity Value Floriculture seeds 34496 2871 42659 3922 50048 7713 Fresh Fruits vegetables 1296530 13637 1465040 16587 1983873 24117 Processed fruits vegetables 325293 9614 501826 13595 549949 17316 Total 1656319 261227 2009525 341051 258387 491459 Source: APEDA, India Note: Qty: MT, value : Million INR Vegetables: In vegetable production, India is next to China with a production of 125.8 million tonnes from 7.8 million hectares with a share of 13 percent in relation to world production (Table 9). The per capital consumption of vegetables is 120 grams per day (APEDA 2009). In case of Fresh vegetable Indias export has been increased from INR 433.14 Crore in 2006-07 to Rs 489.49 Crore in 2007-08. Major Export Destinations of these vegetables are UAE, UK, Nepal, and Saudi Arabia. (APEDA, 2009) Table 9 Area, production and productivity of vegetable crops in India Year Area (MHA) Production (MT) Productivity (MT/ha) ) 2001-02 6156 88622 14.4 2002-03 6092 84815 13.9 2003-04 6082 88334 14.5 2004-05 6744 101246 15.0 2005-06 7213 111399 15.4 2006-07 7584 115011 15.2 2007-08 7803 125887 16.1 Source: FAO Indian Horticulture Database (2008) Among all vegetables gherkin is considered for the present study due to following reasons. Indias export of gherkin has been steadily increased since 1997-98. It accounts for 24,490 tonnes of gherkins having an export potential of INR 50.27 crore as against 35,242 tonnes worth of INR 69.86 crore in 1999-2000 (Venkatesh, 2003). In recent year gherkin export has been increased to 61.5 million tonnes with a trade value of INR1465.5 million during 2007-08 (UNFAO Export Data, 2009). 2.2.1 Production and export importance of gherkin in India Gherkin crop is being selected for the present study. It is regarded as HEIA crop especially a hybrid crop. Gherkin cultivation and processing started in India in the early 90s and presently cultivated over 19,500 acres in the three southern states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Although gherkin can grow virtually in any part of the country, the ideal conditions required for growth prevail in these three states where the growing season extends throughout the year. It requires adequate water and temperature between 15-36 degree centigrade and the right type of soil. The crop takes 85 days to reach the required maturity level. Productivity is approximately four to five tonnes per acre and the best months are from February to March followed by June to August. India is a major exporter of provisionally preserved gherkin. Table 10 11 shows the cucumber and gherkin export from India. In India, Karnataka stands first in export, where cultivation is steadily growing since 2001 -02 accounting for a worth of INR 1200 million. During 2006-07 gherkins accounts to INR 3133 million which has been exported (Table 12). Table 10 Cucumber and gherkin exports from India (2007-08) Country Value( Million INR) Quantity (Tonnes) Share (%) ) UAE 1.96 142.75 17.55 Bangladesh 1.92 290.00 17.17 Netherland 1.78 93.10 15.92 Russia 1.66 83.50 14.91 Estonia 0.80 43.94 7.17 Nepal 0.75 74.42 6.75 Oman 0.75 70.00 6.74 Spain 0.55 31.82 4.95 France 0.47 20.21 4.27 Others 0.51 26.42 4.56 Total 11.20 876.18 100 Source: