Evaluation of competitiveness power of fishing and aquaculture industry in Turkey

There has been a significant lack of data on product and input markets, aquaculture consumption characteristics, production, distribution and marketing issues, and supply and value chain in Turkish fishing and aquaculture sectors. Therefore, the study examined the competitiveness of the Turkish aquaculture industry. Time series data belonging the time period of 1976-2020 gathered from Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Trade Organization and Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT) were used in the study. In the research, the competitiveness of the Turkish fishing and aquaculture sector has been explored by using the Balassa index, total factor productivity and production costs. The research results show that the fisheries in Turkey are small-scale, technological level are insufficient and there are financial problems. Based on the revealed comparative advantage (RCA) values of the world and EU, which are 0.65 and 1.86, respectively, Turkey's has competitive power over EU countries, while the reverse is the case for the world. Although fisheries supply chain has been established in Turkey, the value chain has not yet been fully established and activated. The study suggests increasing the efficiency in aquaculture production, having a strong interaction with the market during the production phase, having a high awareness of the price trends and consumer needs throughout the supply chain, using modern production and distribution technologies, and developing effective extension/education activities to reach the desired point in the Turkish aquaculture sector. Quality standards should be at the international level to increase export opportunities and competitiveness of Turkish aquaculture sector.