•The exergy efficiency of the drying chamber ranged from 16.44 % to 70.47 %.•The overall efficiency of the greenhouse and the solar air collector were calculated to be 42 percent and 62 percent, respectively.•an energy and exergy balance of the forced convection solar drying system has been presented.•the payback period for the system was estimated to be 1.82 years. Solar drying is a thermodynamic method of controlling moisture content that uses a non-depletable free renewable energy source. This work discussed a qualitative and economic analysis of a forced convection drying system for tomato slices in an agricultural greenhouse under Tunisian climatic conditions. Then an exergy and energy balances of the drying system were presented. The tomato’s thin layer was dried in a mixed convection solar drier for 79 h and 127 h in a conventional sun drying process from an initial moisture content of 20.27 to 0.36 kg H2O per kg of dry matter. Energy and exergy analyses of the tomato’s drying process were investigated. It was also discovered that the exergy efficiency of the drying chamber ranged from 16.44 percent to 70.47 percent. The overall efficiency of the greenhouse and the solar air collector were calculated to be 42 percent and 62 percent, respectively. To determine the quality of fresh and dried tomatoes, color analysis was performed. A cost-benefit analysis was performed, and the payback period for the system was estimated to be 1.82 years.