Analysis of Leading Countries in Sea Bream (Sparus aurata) Export Performance with Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Methods

Sea bream (Sparus aurata) is being produced and exported more and more with the increasing demand worldwide. Sea bream is a prominent species, especially in Mediterranean aquaculture, and its importance is growing for exporting countries. The increase in sea bream exports and competition necessitates closer monitoring of the performance of exporting countries. In this context, this study aims to evaluate the export performance of the world's top sea bream exporting countries using multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques. In the study, CRITIC, SD, and combined methods were used to weight the criteria. The MAIRCA method was used to rank the export performance of the countries. In addition, BORDA counting methods were integrated into these methods, and more precise results were obtained. Thus, the highest weights in criterion weighting are the annual growth rate of exports in the last five years and market concentration. Conversely, net trade had the lowest criterion weight. Greece, Türkiye, and Morocco had the highest performance in sea bream exports, respectively. Cyprus had the lowest performance in sea bream exports. To improve their performance in exporting sea bream, countries must emphasize export growth, increase the value of exports per unit, and focus on exporting to more countries.