Demand for inputs in silkworm production: the case of Turkey

Abstract

-The objective of this study was to calculate the price, cross, and Morishima Technical Substitution elasticities for the costs of manpower, supply of mulberry leaves, transportation, heating, and material, all of which play pivotal roles for producers in sericulture. A survey was conducted by face-to-face interviews with 207 farmers within the scope of the study. At the analysis phase of the study, the share equity translog cost model was used. The response of the producers to the production input prices were calculated as inelastic. The strictest demand for an input belongs to mulberry leaves (−0.051) and the highest elasticity for transportation costs (−0.314). Sericulture dependents on workforce and mulberry leaves and this activity in Turkey is a labor-dense type of production.