Economic Analysis and Cost Structure of Dragon Fruit (Hylocereus costaricensis) Milkshake

Abstract:

The present investigation was undertaken to evaluate the economics of production of dragon fruit milkshake prepared using different levels of dragon fruit pulp. The study was conducted at the Section of Animal Husbandry and Dairy Science, College of Agriculture, Nagpur, during 2025–26. Buffalo milk was used as the basic dairy ingredient and dragon fruit pulp was incorporated at five levels, viz., 0 per cent (T₁), 6 per cent (T₂), 8 per cent (T₃), 10 per cent (T₄) and 12 per cent (T₅). The cost of production was calculated by considering the prevailing costs of buffalo milk, dragon fruit pulp, sugar, labour, fuel, electricity and miscellaneous expenses. The cost of production per litre was ₹111.57, ₹127.02, ₹131.81, ₹136.43 and ₹140.90 for T₁, T₂, T₃, T₄ and T₅, respectively. The cost of production increased progressively with increasing levels of dragon fruit pulp, mainly because of the additional quantity of fruit pulp required in the respective treatments. The 10 per cent dragon fruit pulp treatment (T₄), which was the most acceptable treatment in the thesis, had a production cost of ₹136.43 per litre. The benefit-cost ratio was highest for the control treatment and decreased with increasing pulp level. From an economic as well as product-acceptability perspective, T₄ was identified as the superior formulation.