Evaluation of foreign trade incentives in food industry in Çukurova region

In this thesis, it is aimed to determine the effect of foreign trade incentives applied in the food industry to the enterprises operating in Mersin, Adana and Hatay cities in Çukurova Region and exporting companies. According to the research results, the majority of the enterprises surveyed (n = 43) operate in Mersin due to the advantage of the port in international trade. Enterprises have limited weight as commercial titles, with an average capital of 29.826.674 ₺ and average of machinery equipment value of 17.946.980 ₺. In the research universe, while the average export value of the enterprises is USD 12,596,120, the export experience period is 12 years and %75,56 (n = 49) of the enterprises stated that increasing sales income is one of the aims of export. While the incentive system that most benefited of enterprises is inward processing regime, the least benefiting patent is utility model certificate and industrial design support, the most effective incentive system is overseas expo support. While awareness of export incentives in general differed significantly according to export value (p≤0,05), it was observed that overall utilization and impact levels did not differ according to export value (p≥0,05). %64,06 (n=41) of the enterprises stated that their foreign trade incentives were insufficient, and more than half of the enterprises (n=34) stated that they benefited from the Exporters Unions in obtaining information from the incentives. According to the results of the factor analysis, the enterprises stated that the export affects the firm growth rate, employment and capacity efficiency, while the incentives contribute to the formation of the new market, while the highest exchange rate risk in exports is the problem.