Marketing Channel Preferences of Cut Flower Producers: A Case Study of Turkey

Abstract

This study aims to determine the preferred criteria of cut flower producers when choosing marketing channels, and the degrees of importance of these criteria. In this study, the levels of importance of the different marketing criteria used by cut flower producers and their marketplace preferences were analyzed using the analytic hierarchy process. The data used in this study were obtained from questionnaires completed by 82 cut flower producers in İzmir province. The most preferred marketing criterion for producers was payment guarantee, followed by ease of marketing and price. When producers’ marketplace preferences were ranked according to the different criteria, cooperatives ranked first, followed by wholesalers and exporters. The Tobit model was employed to reveal the socio-economic variables that affected the producers’ choices and the criteria considered in the analytic hierarchy process. It was established that cooperatives play an important role in marketing cut flowers and developing this sector in Turkey.