Daily earnings have increased to 1000 TL! There are no more workers available to work in this industry.

In the Samandağ district of Hatay, farmer Gökmen Ekiz, who started early tangerine harvesting on his 10-acre land, is forced to work alone because he cannot find workers to work for a daily wage of 1000 TL.

'NO WORKERS AVAILABLE, I'M DOING IT MYSELF'

Gökmen Ekiz, who is harvesting early tangerines on his 10-acre agricultural land, said, "The harvest of early tangerines in our 10-acre garden behind us has also started. We cannot find workers due to labor shortage. We have to do our own harvest out of necessity. It is difficult to do it alone. It is difficult to cultivate and market. The harvest is going very weak. The main reason for the weak harvest is hail. Another factor is the lack of workers. Last year, the trees were more loaded due to weather conditions. The products of last year could not be sold for 2 TL. This year, the fruit is scarce. Seasonally, the weather was very hot and effective during the flowering period of the trees. The yield was low, but we still have marketing problems," he said.

'WORKERS DEMAND HIGH PRICES'

Ekiz, stating that workers demand a daily wage of 1000 TL, said that the field price of the product is 20 TL, "Workers demand a very high wage. Today, you cannot find a worker who will work for less than 1000 TL. The maximum amount that the workers will 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 goes to the merchant. We don't have anything left. If it goes from the field to the merchant, they will buy it for 5-6 TL, but the money that will save the farmer is not less than 20 TL. According to the information we received from our acquaintances who buy from supermarkets, it is sold for 35-40 TL," he said.