The garden owner, unable to find workers to harvest the early mandarins, started the harvest alone in his 10-decare garden.

In the Samandağ district of Hatay, farmer Gökmen Ekiz, who has started the early mandarin harvest on his 10-decare land, is harvesting alone due to worker wages reaching 1,000 TL and a labor shortage these days.

As Turkey’s prominent agricultural city, Hatay has begun the harvest of citrus products as autumn approaches. Gökmen Ekiz, who farms in the Çanakoluk neighborhood of Samandağ, has started the early mandarin harvest on his 10-decare agricultural land. Farmer Ekiz is harvesting alone due to the wages reaching 1,000 TL and the inability to find workers. The mandarins have been affected by hail during the winter months, and they find buyers at 20 TL from the field.

“We can’t find workers due to the labor shortage, and we have to do our own harvesting.”
Gökmen Ekiz, who is harvesting early mandarins on his 10-decare agricultural land, stated, “We have started harvesting early mandarins in our 10-decare orchard behind us. We can’t find workers due to the labor shortage. We are forced to do our own harvesting. It is difficult to do it alone. It is challenging to grow and market. The harvest is very weak. The primary factor in the weak harvest was hail. Another factor is the lack of workers. Last year, due to weather conditions, the trees were more loaded in terms of yield. Last year’s products couldn’t be sold for 2 TL. This year, the fruit is less. During the flowering period of the trees, the weather was very hot and had a significant impact. The yield was low, but despite this, we are struggling with marketing,” he said.

“Today, you can’t find a worker who will work for less than a thousand lira.”
Gökmen Ekiz expressed that workers demand 1,000 TL a day, noting that the field price of the product is 20 TL. He stated, “Workers are asking for a very high wage. Today, you can’t find a worker who will work for less than a thousand lira. The maximum that workers can collect will be 300-400 kilos. When it comes to marketing, the 500-600 kilos they collect already goes to their daily wage, and the rest is left for the trader. Nothing is left for us. If it remains with the trader, they will buy it for 5-6 TL, but the money that will save the farmer cannot be less than 20 TL. According to the information we have received from our acquaintances in the markets, it is sold for 35-40 TL.”