Farm size and economic efficiency: a case study of tea production in West Bengal

Once tea was the major source of export earnings for India, but now India is trailing behind in the field of tea production and exports. Darjeeling tea is considered as India’s pride and almost entire production are exported. The depressed tea export of India actually caused the breakdown of the tea industry in West Bengal. Under such circumstances, it is appropriate to verify whether the tea gardens of West Bengal are efficient or not. This is so because efficient utilisation of economic resources can reduce the cost of production and thus make the industry more competitive. For the sustainability of the development of the tea gardens of West Bengal, efficient utilisation of economic resources is necessary as well as sufficient condition. In this paper, an attempt has been made to measure simultaneously technical and allocative efficiency for large, medium and small tea gardens in West Bengal.