Economic analysis of cherry growing farms with good agricultural practices in Western Thrace region

The primary income source of people living in Western Thrace is agriculture. The main agricultural products of the region are cherries, cotton and tobacco. Most of the cherries produced in the area are exported to the other EU countries. While export opportunities increase in agricultural production, the importance of the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) standard emerges in ensuring sustainability and protecting human health and providing safe food to consumers. This research aims to analyze the economic aspects of cherry growing farms by using data obtained from the 66 farms in the area that apply GAP to production in the Western Thrace region. In the research area, 40.9% of the farms have been producing cherries for more than 21 years. The cherry growing chart in the orchards is the classical planting with a share of 74,2%. 53% of farms have early, medium, and other late varieties of cherries. 74,2% of farmers have specified that GAP has increased their incomes. The average size of cherry orchards, yield per tree, yield per decare, and the number of trees per decare were determined as 10,4 decares, 10,9 kg, 527 kg, and 48, respectively. The total establishment cost of the cherry orchard was determined to be 1192,75 €/decares. The average production cost was defined as 494,94 €/decares. The average selling price and production cost of cherries have been calculated as 1.37 €/kg and 0,94€/kg, respectively. Gross production value, net profit, and relative profit were 721,99 €/decares, 227,05 €/decares, and 1,46 in the Western Thrace region, respectively.