The relationship between my family and Free Trade and Export

The relationship between my family and Free Trade and Export:
In Turkey, where I reside, free trade operated within a closed system until 1980. Consequently, my family's involvement in trade commenced after this period. I initially thought that my mother's (Yeter) trade began with fresh apricots and dried apricot trading, as her roots are in Malatya/Hekimhan. However, through my research, I discovered that it actually started with sales focused on figs and grapes. In their village, there were traders known as "Çerçi," who used to come with their horses, selling toys and food from other villages, and buying dried fruits set aside by the village women to earn their own pocket money. My grandmother was one of these women, managing the collection and sales aspect while my grandfather, who worked as a state employee and repairman for the railways, sold the produce grown in the fields acquired with his earnings. Due to her brother living in Germany, my grandmother also engaged in limited exports when he visited. Over time, their sales transitioned to the export level with the growth of apricot trees. The process involves burning sulfur in huts in front of their homes after harvesting the apricots, followed by separating the seeds and drying them, making it a fruit that can be sold even during the winter. Currently, four out of seven siblings are engaged in apricot trade.
On the other hand, my father's (Ahmet) family, always based in Niğde/Ulukışla, participated in intercity trade, primarily to cities like Izmir and Istanbul, under the closed trade system until 1980. They were involved in the production and sale of apples, potatoes, and wheat. However, in the 1970s, their significant export process began with cherries, which now constitutes a substantial portion of our family's income. Cherries from Niğde are sold at higher prices compared to cities like Izmir due to their later ripening. Our small village, Kılan, comes to life during the summer with the pleasant mountain air, attracting people from surrounding cities and families who have migrated to larger cities like ours. We directly export cherries to Azerbaijan, Italy, and European countries, either directly or through Istanbul. Cherries are the leading product in which Turkey is the world's top producer. While the country sold 72 thousand tons in 2020, we sold approximately 1000 kilos at 60 TL per kilo in 2022. Our production involves daily laborers from places like Ereğli, and we share the profit with our partners responsible for harvesting and maintenance. Currently, all of my father and his six siblings, as well as their children and even grandchildren, are involved in this business.
Since my childhood, assisting my father in picking and selling cherries during the summer, along with visits to Malatya, has given me some insight into the state of trade in the country. As a result, I believe I have some knowledge of the subject. Through the trade and export topics covered in class, I have better understood the importance of trade between countries for humanity. I also realized the connection with the concept of absolute advantage, noticing that apricots and cherries we export from Turkey are of higher quality compared to those available domestically. I attribute this to advancements deliberately made in production, such as in pest control and irrigation systems. Another observation is that we shifted our focus from various productions like apples and wheat to a single product—cherries. I theorize that this shift aligns with the new trade theory, although it is specific to our family and commercial life rather than a general trend in the country. In terms of export methods, we are positioned as a producer supporting Indirect (or Passive) Export. We sell our products to a commission-based company, and they handle the distribution overseas. The development of free trade and export is evident in the transformation of the village I observed in my past into a developed hub now considered the center for trucks arriving from abroad, significantly contributing to Turkey's overall development.

The relationship between my family and Culture and Globalization:
My parents have experienced similar lives, both coming from families deeply rooted in village life, where the elders always kept their place and introduced every new technology to their families. Despite facing numerous challenges due to political events in Turkish history, my father, born in 1944, emerged as the only person in his village and among his siblings to attend university. He studied at a teacher's college, enduring difficult times due to political events in Turkey during those years. In addition to his experiences, he taught for two years at a minority Turkish school in Xanthi, Greece, in 1977. He raised my four elder sisters in Istanbul before marrying my mother. Following their marriage, my mother completed her secretarial training in Adana, moved to Istanbul, and eventually stopped working due to her health and disability. Although Turkey has a high Power Distance Index, indicating a preference for hierarchical order, our family exhibits equality among my four sisters, my father's siblings, and across the family. There is no concept of a family patriarch, and property rights in the fields are equally distributed among siblings. Turkey is known for its collectivist culture, and our extended family, with its elders and a majority of individuals from different generations, is a clear reflection of this. We are far from individualistic, gathering all relatives during the summer to collectively support the harvest and sales of our produce. In terms of the Masculinity-Femininity dimension, Turkey tends towards femininity, and our family aligns with this in both our work and family life. We lean towards femininity in a harmonious manner. People in our family live according to their own choices and preferences. While Turkey's Uncertainty Avoidance Index is high, indicating a preference for structure and avoiding uncertainty, our family is the opposite, with a diverse mix of people in terms of opinions, ideas, and even social status, coexisting without any issues. In the workforce, individuals from different levels, such as C-level executives, school principals, journalists, lawyers, and nurses, come together without any hierarchical restrictions, freely discussing various topics.
Regarding globalization, in addition to the exports we engage in, the experiences and special education kits brought by my elder sisters from their time abroad have enriched our family members from different perspectives. The workplaces sending them to foreign countries for language and competency development have consistently introduced new and beneficial elements to our lives, particularly in terms of cuisine, conversations, and various cultural aspects. One memorable moment was my youngest sister Eylem's first paychecks, which she used to buy brand-name perfumes from China at a surprisingly low cost due to the absence of customs duties during their entry to Turkey.