Cost and Profitability of Pear Farms in Türkiye: The Case of Korkuteli District of Antalya Province

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyse the cost and profitability of agricultural farms engaged in pear production activities in the Korkuteli district of Antalya province, Türkiye, and to calculate marketing margins. In the study, primary data were obtained from 96 pear producers in the Korkuteli district by face-to-face survey method. The costs and profitability of pear producers were calculated using a single-product budget analysis method. According to the findings of the research, the cost of pear production per hectare of the producers was calculated as US$ 8824.75 on average for farms and US$ 9654.74 on average for the region. The share of variable costs in production was 68.29%, and the share of fixed costs was 31.71%. According to the regional average, the cost element with the highest share of production costs was pesticide costs. The gross production value per hectare was calculated as US$ 15539.34 at the interviewed pear farms, and US$ 14620.33 on the regional average. Relative profit was 1.76 on average for the interviewed farms and 1.51 on average for the region. Therefore, for every US$ 1 cost of pear production, a US$ 1.76 gross production value was obtained. It was determined that profit margins increased and unit costs decreased according to production scale. Pesticides, fertilisers and labour were important cost items in production costs. The highest kilogram cost was for farms in the second group, and the lowest kilogram cost was for farms in the fourth group. This was related to the sales channel preferences and yields of the farms.