Turkey’s food sector, which is among the country’s leading industries along with energy, education, textiles, health and infrastructure, has considerably developed in terms of both domestic and foreign trade.
Fruit and vegetable cultivation takes up the majority of agricultural land in the country. And thanks to Turkey’s geographical location, fresh produce can be grown in almost every region throughout the year. In fact almost half of the fruit and vegetables grown around the world can be produced in the country.
The Turkish fruit industry is characterised not just by the great diversification in the number of fruits grown, but also the high quality. The produce grown consists mainly of grapes, top fruit, stonefruit and citrus, depending upon market demand.
With a 2.5 per cent share of global fruit and veg production, Turkey was the 10th largest producer in 2009, according to FAO figures. In 2010, production reached 44 million tonnes.
Two out of three of the indigenous varieties grown in the country are exported. In 2010, some 2.9mt of fresh fruit and vegetables were sold abroad, putting Turkey among the 11 leading produce exporters in the world. The country’s exporters also satisfy health and environmental standards such as ISO 9001, ISO 22000, HACCP and GlobalGAP.
Citrus is the most important product group, with 1.2mt exported. The many varieties of lemons grown make up the largest part of that with 424,000t. Interdonato lemons are commonly grown in the country, particularly in the eastern Mediterranean region. This early variety accounts for most of the citrus fruit exported from Turkey. Another important lemon variety, Lamas, requires special environmental conditions and is found only in a limited area of the Mediterranean region west of Mersin, near Erdemli and Silifke. This early variety is second only to the Interdonato lemon. The fruit is said to be ideal for storage and transport since it can be kept for a long time in natural product stores in central Anatolia.
Elsewhere on citrus exports, easy peelers account for some 419,000t, with oranges and grapefruit next with 221,000t and 155,000t respectively. Tomatoes, grapes and cherries are also important lines with 575,000t, 238,000t and 65,000t respectively.
The most important markets for Turkish fruit and vegetable exports are Russia, Germany, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Iraq, with the most important markets for citrus being Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Romania.
Turkish exporters also take part in a wide range of promotional activities in order to increase their share in existing markets and penetrate new target markets. The main activities are planned and organised by the Turkish Citrus Promotion Group, which was established in 2007. The main aim of the promotional body is to increase demand for Turkish citrus both locally and globally. A wide range of activities are carried out by the group to help the branding process of Turkish citrus.
The Citrus Promotion Group’s activities for 2012 include participation in international fairs both in Turkey and in other countries such as at World Food Moscow, Foodex Japan, World Of Perishables (WOP) in Dubai, Fruit Logistica in Germany, Asia Fruit Logistica in Hong Kong, Iran Agrofood and Iraq Agro-Food.
In addition to this, sectorial trade missions have been scheduled, targeted at specific markets, where meetings with potential buyers will be organised. The group also supports citrus-related projects at different research institutes. -
