Economic analysis of oyster mushroom production in Kerala

Abstract

Economic analysis of oyster mushroom (Pleurotus florida) indicate that mushroom cultivation can be undertaken as an agri-business and is an ideal enterprise for house wives to earn an additional income. The major contributor of working capital was the material input (78 percent) and the rest by hired labour. Explicit costs increased as the size of the operation increased while implicit cost showed a decreasing trend. Low yield due to incidence of pests and diseases was the most important production constraint followed by high price of inputs and low yield due to seasonal variation. Major marketing problem was lack of awareness about the importance and nutritional qualities of mushrooms.