ASSESSMENT OF DEMAND FUNCTION FOR SOME SOURCES OF ANIMAL PROTEIN IN EGYPT

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Food is a necessity of life that is  closely linked to the standard of health of the communities and have a significant impact on the production capacity of individuals and groups and on the national level. Therefore, food commodities in all societies are the most pressing needs and to satisfy the request. Spending on food consumption are the largest proportion of consumer expenditure items. basic components of food protein may be the most important due to its role in the construction of the main tissues and the compensation of losses. The problem is that research is that the average per capita consumption of protein in Egypt is relatively low and stable . This may be due to some problems facing the development of this important source of protein sources, both at the international level and / or local level. Consequently, this study aimed to identify the most important determinants of per capita demand for red meat in Egypt during the period 1990-2006 as base of any attempt to cover the needs of the population or to ensure a minimum level of those needs. It could be concluded through the results of the simple matrix Alaratiat transactions between the variables that the independent variables, the national consumption of red meat "x 1", and imports of red meat "x 3" and per capita poultry meat "x 6" and the ratio between the price of domestic beef and imported red "x 7" and the share of capita fish meat "x 9" There is an internal Relation between them, and are the remain factors of such relation with the per capita red meat. The study of these relations for each of the models the log steps and the results were largely similar, and the expense of the demand elasticity’s results were as follows: A - the elasticity of demand for the relative change of per capita red meat and the relative change in the quantity of consumed red meat at 0.98 and noted that the flexibility is positive reference This is consistent with economic logic sense that an increase in the consumption of red meat will lead to an increase in per capita red meat. B - the elasticity of demand for the ratio of price to the prices of red meat and the prices of local poultry has reached the value of flexibility - 0.23, where a negative note the reference in line with economic logic, which means that the increase in the ratio of price to the prices of the local red meat and poultry prices result in a decrease of per capita of red meat. C - the elasticity of demand for per capita fish amounted to (- 0.31), where the relationship between them counterproductive increase in per capita meat fish would result in lower per capita red meat. The response to the prices of red meat leads to the tendency of individuals towards the consumption of alternative red meat or poultry,  fish and this is consistent with economic logic.