Economic and environmental dynamics of tea production through material flow cost accounting (MFCA)
The focus of the investigation is on the analysis of tea production in Iran by utilizing the Material Flow Cost Accounting (MFCA) technique, with the aim of determining the costs of both the economic and environmental aspects. The main driving principle of this study is to establish the true costs o...
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| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Cleaner Engineering and Technology |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666790825000941 |
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| author | Majid Dekamin Ashkan Nabavi-Pelesaraei Hosein Rezaei |
| author_facet | Majid Dekamin Ashkan Nabavi-Pelesaraei Hosein Rezaei |
| author_sort | Majid Dekamin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The focus of the investigation is on the analysis of tea production in Iran by utilizing the Material Flow Cost Accounting (MFCA) technique, with the aim of determining the costs of both the economic and environmental aspects. The main driving principle of this study is to establish the true costs of the entire tea production process. The MFCA method provides a thorough material flow analysis to identify hidden costs associated with tea cultivation. It was found that the overall production expenditures involved, including human labor, agricultural machinery, fertilizers, pesticides, and fuel, stood at $6726.5 ha-1 while the gross value of production was $5606.8 ha-1. The negative gross return is primarily attributed to environmental costs, including emissions of toxic gases from fertilizers (ammonia and nitrous oxide), water and soil pollution caused by pesticide use, and a yield loss of 631.5 kg ha−1. Among these, yield loss is identified as the most significant factor reducing profitability, although it is often overlooked in traditional cost accounting (TCA) models. In comparison to TCA, the MFCA approach — by incorporating environmental costs — demonstrates a more favorable benefit-cost ratio, indicating better financial performance when sustainability factors are considered. The research consequently asserts that in order to promote not only the economic viability but also the environmental sustainability of tea production, some production processes should be reformed and government policies updated. The restructuring should concentrate on the new machinery use, improvement in agricultural methods, as well as the adoption of policies which are focused on decreasing the environment costs and waste, all of these will lower the result of the tea farming industry in the area from the long-term point of view. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-de8a9399e3414c7696e7b6db1f9888b1 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2666-7908 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cleaner Engineering and Technology |
| spelling | doaj-art-de8a9399e3414c7696e7b6db1f9888b12025-08-20T02:30:59ZengElsevierCleaner Engineering and Technology2666-79082025-05-012610097110.1016/j.clet.2025.100971Economic and environmental dynamics of tea production through material flow cost accounting (MFCA)Majid Dekamin0Ashkan Nabavi-Pelesaraei1Hosein Rezaei2Department of Plant Production and Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture, Malayer University, Malayer, Hamadan, Iran; Corresponding author.Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, DenmarkDepartment of (Water and) Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Malayer University, Malayer, IranThe focus of the investigation is on the analysis of tea production in Iran by utilizing the Material Flow Cost Accounting (MFCA) technique, with the aim of determining the costs of both the economic and environmental aspects. The main driving principle of this study is to establish the true costs of the entire tea production process. The MFCA method provides a thorough material flow analysis to identify hidden costs associated with tea cultivation. It was found that the overall production expenditures involved, including human labor, agricultural machinery, fertilizers, pesticides, and fuel, stood at $6726.5 ha-1 while the gross value of production was $5606.8 ha-1. The negative gross return is primarily attributed to environmental costs, including emissions of toxic gases from fertilizers (ammonia and nitrous oxide), water and soil pollution caused by pesticide use, and a yield loss of 631.5 kg ha−1. Among these, yield loss is identified as the most significant factor reducing profitability, although it is often overlooked in traditional cost accounting (TCA) models. In comparison to TCA, the MFCA approach — by incorporating environmental costs — demonstrates a more favorable benefit-cost ratio, indicating better financial performance when sustainability factors are considered. The research consequently asserts that in order to promote not only the economic viability but also the environmental sustainability of tea production, some production processes should be reformed and government policies updated. The restructuring should concentrate on the new machinery use, improvement in agricultural methods, as well as the adoption of policies which are focused on decreasing the environment costs and waste, all of these will lower the result of the tea farming industry in the area from the long-term point of view.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666790825000941Economic analysisEnvironmental impactMaterial flow cost accountingSustainabilityTea productionYield loss |
| spellingShingle | Majid Dekamin Ashkan Nabavi-Pelesaraei Hosein Rezaei Economic and environmental dynamics of tea production through material flow cost accounting (MFCA) Cleaner Engineering and Technology Economic analysis Environmental impact Material flow cost accounting Sustainability Tea production Yield loss |
| title | Economic and environmental dynamics of tea production through material flow cost accounting (MFCA) |
| title_full | Economic and environmental dynamics of tea production through material flow cost accounting (MFCA) |
| title_fullStr | Economic and environmental dynamics of tea production through material flow cost accounting (MFCA) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Economic and environmental dynamics of tea production through material flow cost accounting (MFCA) |
| title_short | Economic and environmental dynamics of tea production through material flow cost accounting (MFCA) |
| title_sort | economic and environmental dynamics of tea production through material flow cost accounting mfca |
| topic | Economic analysis Environmental impact Material flow cost accounting Sustainability Tea production Yield loss |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666790825000941 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT majiddekamin economicandenvironmentaldynamicsofteaproductionthroughmaterialflowcostaccountingmfca AT ashkannabavipelesaraei economicandenvironmentaldynamicsofteaproductionthroughmaterialflowcostaccountingmfca AT hoseinrezaei economicandenvironmentaldynamicsofteaproductionthroughmaterialflowcostaccountingmfca |