The contribution of Aydın olive production to the regional and country economy

The olive plant is a plant that has been used and cultivated since ancient times. Since it has been used since ancient times, it has been the subject of different studies in every moment of life and in almost every period of human history. Olive grown in Aydın province has been recorded as a source of livelihood not only today but also during the Ottoman Empire period. Looking at the empirical literature, it is seen that there is a positive relationship between agricultural products, exports and economic growth. In this respect, the idea that olives and olive oil grown in Aydın province can also contribute to the regional and national economy has formed the motivation of the study. The aim of this study is to examine the contribution of olives and olive oil grown in Aydın to the economy of the Aegean Region and Turkey in general. Descriptive analysis technique, one of the quantitative analysis techniques, is used in the research. For this purpose, olive and olive oil production, number of trees, consumption, number of exports and economic growth data for Aydın province, Aegean Region and Turkey between the years 2011-2021 were obtained from the database of the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) and the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM). With the data obtained, the contribution of olive and olive oil produced in Aydın to the economy of the Aegean Region and Turkey in general has been examined with the descriptive analysis method, one of the quantitative analysis techniques. In the study, analysis was also carried out with the help of comparative tables. In line with the findings, it was concluded that the olive and olive oil produced in Aydın contributed positively to both the Aegean Region and Turkey's overall export and economic growth data. KEYWORDS: Aydın, Aegean Region, Turkey, Olive, Olive Oil