Economic analysis and marketing structure and problems of pear growing: A case of Korkuteli district of Antalya province

In this study, it was aimed to examine the socio-economic characteristics of agricultural enterprises engaged in pear production, to reveal the marketing structure and problems of the producers in Korkuteli district of Antalya. The country with the highest pear production in the world is China. Turkey ranks fifth in the pear production, and the fourth in the planted area. Turkey pear production increased by 62.33% compared to 2004 in 2018. Bursa was first rank in pear production, Antalya was second rank. Korkuteli ranks first among the districts of Antalya. For this reason, Korkuteli district of Antalya was chosen as the research area. The primary data in the study were obtained from the pear producers by face to face survey method. FAO and TURKSTAT data were also used. Pear production costs and incomes were calculated with the single product budget analysis method. The average age of the farmers was 48.91 years, the household number was 3.77, and the pear production experience was 22.93 years. 36.46% of the interviewed farmers were primary school graduates, 9.38% were secondary school, 41.67% were high school, 9.38% were college, and 3.13% were university. Production cost in pear production was determined as 70280.84 TL in farms average, variable cost as 47991.99 TL, and fixed costs as 22288.85 TL. The gross production value was calculated as 7474.42 TL. One of the most important problems faced by the producers was Psylla, locally called Ballı Basara. High input costs, inadequate marketing, insufficient technical knowledge, and insufficient irrigation affected producers negatively.