Cost Estimation Function Productivity and the Size of the Optimal Production of Fish in Iraq for a period (1990-2019)

Abstract

The research aims to study the costs of fish production in Iraq due to its economic and nutritional importance. Using estimate the total cost function as well as the optimal production volume. The years of the studied period witnessed a continuous increase in the amount of costs and a decrease in the level of production, especially during the nineties, when the level of production did not reach the optimal level. One of the reasons for the high costs was the increase in the prices of fodder and veterinary supplies, as the greater amounts of the cost value were in addition to being affected by the country's political, social and regional conditions. The optimum production amount reached (171.66) thousand tons, but the annual production did not reach this amount. The function factor and cost elasticity indicate that production is subject to increasing yields for all years due to the fact that all values of cost elasticity are less than one. Also, the average variable cost reached the lowest value of 39,276 during the year 2013, during which the level of production increased and higher relative savings were achieved than in the rest of the other years.