Mandarin Price Gap in Adana: 5 Liras in the Field, 50 Liras in the Supermarket

The huge gap between the field price of mandarins, whose harvest is ongoing in Adana's Yüreğir district, and the price tag on supermarket shelves has caused a reaction among producers. In the city, which meets 51 percent of Turkey's mandarin demand, products that find buyers between 2 and 5 liras on the branch are sold at prices reaching up to 50 liras in chain supermarkets.

While mandarin harvest continues in Adana, one of the centers of citrus production, the price difference in the process from the field to the shelf draws attention. In the region where more than 1 million tons of annual production are made, producers complain about not getting the return for months of labor they put in.

Producer Vedat Kaya criticized the product being 5 liras in the field and 50 liras in the supermarket, stating that prices remained well below the level they expected. Kaya stated that even though supermarkets make direct purchases from the garden, the gap in between is not closed, the exclusion of wholesale markets slows down consumption, and the products in the supermarkets generally consist of second and third quality small, stained, and bruised products.