Abstract:
Tomato is the most popular and important fruit vegetable in the world. However,
post-harvest losses (PHLs) of Tomato are high due to many reasons. Supply and
demand inconsistency due to poor information flow on the preferences is one of the
major reasons for PHL. Preferences on morphological characters can be differed
among main supply chain actors along the Tomato supply chain. Therefore, this
study was conducted to identify the preferences on different selected
morphological characters of Tomato by farmers, wholesalers, retailers and
consumers to provide suggestions for an efficient Tomato supply chain which
would minimize the PHLs. Selected morphological characters were fruit shape, fruit
color, and firmness of the fruit, shelf-life of fruit, fruit weight, fruit length, fruit
diameter, pericarp thickness and growth habit of plant. This research survey study
was carried out using pre-tested questionnaire with a catalogue. The total sample
size was 80 respondents including 20 farmers in Welimada area, 10 wholesalers in
Dambulla economic center, 20 retailers and 30 consumers in Gampaha district.
Farmers and wholesalers were selected purposively and the rest were selected by
using convenient sampling method. Collected data were analyzed using descriptive
and inferential data analyzing tools. Friedman test and Wilcoxon sign rank test
were used as main inferential statistical tools. Interestingly, the findings of the
study revealed that there are some similarities and differences in preferences of
main supply chain actors on selected morphological characters. Fruit color,
firmness, and fruit weight were the key considering characters when purchasing
tomato by wholesalers, retailers, and consumers. Moreover, fruit shape is shared
considering the character of wholesalers and consumers while shelf- life is shared
considering the character of retailers and consumers. However, fruit length,
diameter, and pericarp thickness are important only for the retailers. Furthermore,
the present study revealed that there are some differences between farmer driven
and consumer driven Tomato markets. Therefore, this study suggests to introduce
a new Tomato variety that fulfills the preferences of the consumers mainly to
reduce the PHLs due to mismatch in the line which leads farmers to get better
income. In fact, other stakeholders in Tomato supply chain should aware of the
preferences of consumers in order to supply accordingly. This study provides
significant insights for the marketers, policy makers and researchers in particular.
