Marketing structure of fresh fruit and vegetable in Turkey

The production of fresh fruits and vegetables is an important sector in Turkish agriculture and the national economy. 25% of the total population is employed in the agriculture sector. Turkish fresh fruit and vegetable sub-sector has an important role because of its employment capacity. Approximately 5 million people work in that sector at various levels such as production, processing and marketing area. Also, fruit and vegetables sector is an important supply sector for processing and export industry and it is an important sector that creates demand for fertilizers, feed and pesticides besides fuel and electricity inputs. The limited amount of arable land available in the world is an important issue in terms of providing adequate and balanced nutrition. Production and consumption of fruits and vegetables is of great importance for the solution of balanced nutrition problems. Turkey is quite an important country for fresh fruit and vegetable production in terms of its geographical location, climate and soil properties. Almost every season and in every region of Turkey, fruit and vegetable production is possible. However, certain regions are taking more interest in producing these products. For example, the Mediterranean and the Aegean region of Turkey produce 54% of the total fruit production and they produce %49 of the total vegetables production.1