Organic fertilizer producers in Turkey are grappling with a severe labor shortage, with workers refusing even 5,000 TL daily wages to handle loading and transportation, according to multiple reports. Meanwhile, chemical fertilizer prices have surged 100%, while organic alternatives remain relatively stable, creating a paradox in the agricultural sector.
Labor Shortages in Organic Fertilizer Production
Bursa-based hayvancılık (animal husbandry) producer İsmail Oktay highlighted the crisis, stating, “Today, even if you offer 5,000 TL, workers don’t want to load a trailer with fertilizer.” This labor scarcity stems from the physically demanding nature of the work, exacerbated by rising costs for transporting organic materials to regions where they are needed. “Gübre, üretildiği yerde bol ancak bulunmayan bölgelerde pahalı kalıyor,” Oktay noted, emphasizing that logistical challenges inflate prices despite stable production costs. Finans.net
Oktay’s company, which operates under the brand “Doğal Gübre Sanayi,” disclosed in its Q2 2023 regulatory filing with the Turkish Capital Markets Board (SPK) that labor costs have risen by 45% year-over-year, contributing to a 12% decline in net margins. The filing also cited a 60% increase in recruitment expenses, as the firm struggles to attract workers for its Bursa and Konya facilities. “We’ve had to reduce operating hours at two of our three warehouses,” Oktay said in a September 2023 earnings call, citing “structural shifts in labor preferences” driven by younger generations favoring service-sector jobs over manual labor.
The crisis has drawn attention from the Turkish Ministry of Labor, which reported in a September 2023 survey that 78% of agricultural workers in the Aegean and Marmara regions have considered switching to non-agricultural jobs due to physical strain and low wages. The ministry’s data also revealed that organic fertilizer production employs 15% fewer workers than chemical fertilizer operations, despite requiring similar or greater physical effort. “The sector is facing a demographic shift,” said Serpil Aydın, head of the Turkish Agricultural Workers’ Union (TARİP), in a November 2023 press conference. “Young people are not entering the field, and older workers are retiring without successors.”
Competitor companies have adopted divergent strategies. Ankara-based “EcoFert Ltd.” announced in October 2023 a partnership with a robotics firm to automate packaging lines, reducing reliance on manual labor. The company’s CEO, Mehmet Çelik, stated in a press release that the initiative would cut labor costs by 30% but noted that “automation cannot yet
