Table 6. Comparison of the economic returns from coca and heart of palm (source: interview data, 2000)
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|
Crop |
2000 price (US$) |
Potential number of harvests annually |
Potential harvest |
Selling return per hectare of crop (2000 prices), assuming three
harvests |
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|
Coca |
$98 per
carga† |
3 |
4
cargas/cato‡ |
US$ 2,352 |
|
Heart of plam |
$0.10 per unit |
3 |
1500 units/ha |
US$ 150 |
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†
A carga is a colloquial term used for a
100-lb (45.4 kg) sack of dried coca
leaves ‡ A cato is
1/6 th (0.1.67) ha, making the potential coca harvest = 1088 kg/ha.
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