THE ECONOMİC EFFECTS OF THE COVİD-19 PANDEMİC ON ORNAMENTAL PLANTS SECTOR IN TURKEY

Abstract: Covid-19, also known as the corona virus, first appeared in November of 2019, in the city of Wuhan located in Hubei province of China. During the earliest moments of Covid-19, people were unable to guess at the radical changes in day-to-day life. However, as Covid-19 swept across the world, it has become clear that there are tremendous changes in many areas. Especially in that of health, education, economy, consumer behavior, and social life. Another area that has been damaged by Covid-19 is the ornamental plant sector. Ornamental plant production began to gain importance in the early 20th century throughout the world and has persisted until now. Turkey has important advantages in ornamental plant cultivation, due to its favorable climate and geographical conditions, proximity to market countries and cheap labor. In Turkey, the ornamental plant sector improves every year in terms of production amount and production area. However, due to Covid-19, consumption habits have changed and this has affected the ornamental plant sector. In this study, the importance of ornamental plants on the environment and human beings, and the effects of Covid-19 on the ornamental plant sector in Turkey were evaluated.