Economic Study of Small Scale Tomato Paste Production in Benin. Economic study of tomato paste was performed for two localities (Ketou and Dogbo) of high production of tomato in Benin. For a plant capacity of 10 tons of raw tomatoes per year, with tomato juice concentrated at 13% Natural Tomato Soluble Solids (NTSS) and 20.69% of material balance, the production cost of a glass-jar of 275 g (net weight) is 204.87 F and the profi tability at 15.54% at Ketou. In this locality, the break-even point is estimated at 471.08 kg of paste or 2.28 T of fresh tomato. On the other hand, at Dogbo where the production cost was higher (218.34 F), the profi tability is estimated at 8.4% and the break-even point at 683.65 kg of paste or 3.3 T of fresh tomato. In conditions of good management, the two units are profi table from the fi rst year. Optimisation of energy use in dehydration of tomato juice will enhance interest in small scale tomato paste production in Benin
