Comparison of Citrus Sector Competitiveness between Turkey and EU-15 Member Countries

Abstract

A missing component of existing research on Turkey's citrus products is examination of their revealed comparative advantage (RCA). Such information would enable a comparison of Turkey and EU-15 countries in regard to citrus sector competitiveness. Therefore, this study calculates the RCA for citrus products and explores their competitiveness as well as components of their competitive performance. RCAs for citrus trade performances of both EU-15 countries and Turkey are examined, and the sources of export performance and competitiveness are newly presented. The results indicate that the principle of comparative advantage is a useful tool for understanding the future of citrus agriculture in EU-15 countries and Turkey. In line with the assumption that the dynamics of comparative advantage have become increasingly transparent as citrus markets have become less fettered by government trade, this study uses an RCA index to investigate the patterns of comparative advantage in the EU-15 countries and Turkey in regard to citrus exports. Since the beginning of the Entry Price System in the European Union in 1995, significant changes in citrus export performance have occurred. The RCA index of the Turkish citrus sector within EU-15 countries (RCAe) shows that Greece, Spain, Italy, and Portugal are Turkey's main competitors. The RCAe index and relative trade advantage index indicate that Turkey's competitive power is greater than those of Spain, Italy, Greece, and Portugal in lemon/limes and grapefruit exports.