AN ECONOMIC STUDY OF ESTIMATING COST FUNCTION DATES PRODUCTION IN MURZUQ, SOUTHWESTERN LIBYA

The results showed that fixed cost represented (41?) of the total cost of Murzuq, also the variable cost amounted to approximately (59?) the total cost of Murzuq, and that the optimal size of the production of dates amounted to approximately (2.01) tons per hectare for Murzuq ,and that production was more than the average actual production of dates for the Murzuq by nearly (0.37) tons per hectare , while reported results that the production that maximize profit of dates have hit (4.25) tons per hectare for Murzuq, , and for community sample as a whole and that production is more than the actual production of dates by (2.61) tons per hectare. It also showed the results of the field study that the average price per ton of harvest dates had been hit (1293.50) dinars for the total sample respectively.