Abstract

The purposes of this paper can be translated into two main areas. Firstly, what are the main horticultural crops that can be produced and exported?  Secondly, are these crops utilizing efficiently the limited resources available, and how much competitive is Turkey in relation to other producers within the region? This paper deals only with competitiveness in regards to price and not quality. Comparisons were made by calculating the domestic resource cost (DRC) ratios which refers to the ratio between Opportunity costs of domestic production and value added. The results highlighted the Turkish horticultural sector as having an international competitive advantage. The most competitive crops were tomatoes followed by melons, watermelons and tangerines for the year of 2004. These findings are also supported by foreign trade statistics on the basis of quantity and earnings.

Key words: International competitiveness, horticultural products, domestic resource cost, Turkey.