With the start of avocado harvesting in the Alanya district of Antalya, the avocado thefts occurring throughout the district have driven producers to despair. Farmers, who are losing sleep at night, are keeping watch over their fields, surrounded by barbed wire, along with their dogs.
In the Gazipaşa district of Antalya, Agricultural Engineer Yavuz Çetin recalled that avocados were harvested early in previous years due to the greed for profit and theft incidents in Gazipaşa, stating, "Avocados harvested early do not ripen properly..."