Investigation of Olive Production in Ten-Year Period in 1961-2021 Years

Abstract

Despite its many nutritional characteristics, the number of countries producing olives is limited owing to the growing conditions. Because the olive is a drought-resistant plant, it is one of the fruits that are least affected by climate change. For this reason, in this study, the production areas and the changes in production among global leading olive producing countries were determined for 1961-2021 years. In addition, the Concentration Ratio (CR) and Herfindahl-Hirschman (HH) indices were used to determine the competitive situation in olive production in this study, while the Revealed Comparative Advantage (RXA) index was used in the competition in fruit production areas. According to research, while 32-33 countries produced olives in 1961-1980, the five leading countries were Italy, Spain, Greece, Turkey, and Portugal/Tunisia. In this period, the HH index was over 1.800, and the share of the five countries was approximately 83.55%. During the 1981-2010 periods 32-38 countries produced olives: Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Tunisia were the leading countries, while Spain was the premier country. According to the HHI, the market is a monopolistic competition, but according to the concentration ratios, it shows the characteristics of an oligopolistic market. Countries with competitive positions in olive production are listed from strong to weak, such as Tunisia, Greece, Morocco, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Turkey. While the number of countries producing olives has increased slightly in recent years, conspicuous matters worldwide have been climate change and technological developments in the last years. Considering these situations, countries that reduce costs in olive production and develop technologies that increase yield and quality from unit areas will be one step ahead of the competition. In addition, since this market is generally an oligopoly market, each prolific country will not be disadvantaged by closely following the activities of other countries.