Turkish producers are teaming up with their Argentinian counterparts to extend the sweet cherry season.
Aydin Ozdan, marketing manager with Turkish producers Alara, announced at Fruit Logistica last week: “A joint venture has now been launched with Argentina in order to extend the sweet cherry season and to supply the European market.
“This has been made possible by the fact that the season in the Latin American country does not overlap with that of the land on the Bosporus.”
He said Turkey is the world’s largest producer of sweet cherries, with production of a around 200,000 tonnes a year.
“Between May and June we harvest 500 tonnes of cherries daily.”
The headquarters of Alara is in the Turkish city of Bursa. Large water-cooling plants are used to ensure fruit can be kept for 30 days after harvesting.