Zeytinyağında Bir Dünya Markası Yaratmak Mümkün mü? Milas Zeytinyağı Örneği

Abstract

Geographical Indication (GI) is a sign used to distinguish a product from its similar products and shows that the product has a certain geographical origin and has the quality or reputation arising from this origin. With this “product differentiation” features of the GI, it may lead products to be sold at higher prices compared to standard products. Milas olive oil is Turkey’s first and only olive oil registered as a GI in the European Union (EU) thus has the potential to be recognized worldwide and be sold at higher prices. The current study compares and contrasts the organizational structure of production and marketing strategy of Milas olive oil with Tuscany olive oil from Italy and Sierra de Segura olive oil from Spain, both of which have registered GI in the EU. The organizational structures of production of these two world-famous olive oils were examined and a price comparison was made among GI registered olive oils. The findings show that the importance of GI in Turkey and in Milas is not yet fully perceived and the necessary importance is not given to organizational structure of production of olive oil. In order to obtain the potential economic benefits from Milas olive oil through well-established organizational structure, a roadmap is presented based on both the selected country examples and on the conditions specific to Turkey.