Analysis of marketing margins in selected fresh fruit and vegetables in Adana province

The importance of agricultural production for the country's economy cannot be denied, as it contributes to the growth and nutrition of the population, labor force, national income and employment, as well as meeting the raw material needs of the industrial sector, transferring capital to industry, and making direct and indirect contributions to foreign trade. In the agricultural sector, the formation of healthy prices is essential for the continuity of production and the achievement of domestic welfare. In the agricultural sector, marketing margins, in addition to production costs that affects product prices, are at least as effective in determining the price of the product as the inputs in the production process. In this regard, the main objective of this study is to determine the marketing margins of selected products grown in Adana in the fresh fruit and vegetable sector and to reveal their impact on price formation. In this study, marketing margins were calculated for selected fresh fruit and vegetable products in the marketing process from the producer to the final consumer in Adana province. In this context, the absolute and relative marketing margins in the most frequently used neighbourhood markets and retail marketing channels were calculated. Producer prices, wholesale prices, and retail prices were used as primary data to determine the marketing margins, forming the main material of the study. As a result of the study, it was found that the total marketing margin significantly increased at the retail stage; additionally, the margins in the market retail channel were higher than those in the neighbourhood market retail channel. In this process, factors such as the marketing process of fresh fruits and vegetables from the producer to the final consumer, marketing stages, marketing bodies, and price formations were also observed and an attempt was made to contribute to the elimination of deficiencies and negativities in the sector with the identified problems and solution suggestions. Keywords: Price, Margin, Marketing