Cross Efficiency Evaluation In Olive Oil Sector: A Case Study Of Aydın And Balıkesir Province

The aim of this study is to reveal whether there is a relationship between the production activities of olive oil mills in Aydın and Balıkesir provinces, where important olive oil producers of our country are located, and the province in which they are located, and what are the determining factors on their efficiency. The main material of the study consists of data obtained from face-to-face surveys covering the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 production seasons in a total of 131 olive oil mills, 63 in Aydın province and 68 in Balıkesir province, determined by the stratified random sampling method. Data envelopment analysis was used to calculate the effectiveness scores, and a discrete and bootstrapped regression model with 1000 repetitions was used to determine the factors affecting the effectiveness. As a result of the analysis, it was found that the olive oil mills in Balıkesir province used production inputs more effectively compared to those in Aydın province, the number of fully effective mills in Balıkesir province was higher, the mills in Balıkesir province had lower ratios of improvement compared to the mills in Aydın, and the meta-technology ratios were always higher. It has been concluded that the two provinces are close to each other, 95% of the current output is met with the current technology, and there is a significant relationship between the activities of the olive oil mills in Aydın and Balıkesir provinces and the province they are located in. In addition, it is thought that newly established mills with support and incentives make existing mills ineffective and cause market contraction, and instead, it would be more appropriate to support and encourage the revision of existing mills.