The Problems in Seafood Exports to the EU and Solutions Proposals

With this study conducted to identify the problems affecting the productivity of exporting processing plants; export data, export problems of the processing plants having permission to seafood export to the European Union and published on the official website of The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in 2018, and the effects of export problems on their performances and suggestions to these problems were determined. The questionnaire could be applied to approximately 65% of the companies and empirical dimension of the subject was discussed. The obtained data was analyzed using statistical programs and interpreted. In conclusion of the evaluations, it has been revealed that 49.3% of the processing plants are medium-sized, according to Data Envelopment Analysis results, 15 enterprises, corresponding to 20.5% of the total enterprises participating in our survey, operate 100% efficiently. It has been determined that the problems identified can be experienced by enterprises in all classes. Since our understanding of quality in export is to obtain products in accordance with the criteria of the countries we export to, enterprises produce in EU standards in accordance with the legislation. There is a foreign trade surplus in the seafood export sector which reduces the country's overall foreign trade deficit. It has been determined that companies have problems such as lack of raw materials, inability to find raw materials on time, price imbalance caused by competition affects production and costs are high. It has been identified that tax policies of import country limits exports, they have difficulties to find space especially in air cargo and others. The problems of the border control points stress exporters out, the existence of bureaucratic difficulties should be resolved. It has been foreseen that organization is essential, product diversity should be increased, authorities should be more active, sector-specific loans and incentives should be created.