he food sector, which is one of the most significant sectors alongside the energy, education, textiles, health and infrastructure industries in Turkey, has developed considerably and accelerated in recent years thanks to both domestic and foreign trade supported by the different promotional and advertising campaigns and activities.

Fresh fruit and vegetables are cultivated on a large part of the agricultural land in Turkey. Thanks to Turkey’s favourable geographic and climatic conditions, which essentially sees all four seasons at the same time, it is possible to produce a large variety of fruit and veg almost every season and in every region of Turkey. Almost half of the world’s varieties of fresh produce can be grown in the country.

Turkey’s fruit and vegetable output consists mainly of grapes, top fruit, stonefruit and citrus, which are grown according to international demand.

In the fresh fruit and vegetable sector, Turkey is one of the leading exporter countries in the world. Turkey was ranked the fourth-largest producer of fresh vegetables and sixth-largest producer of fresh fruit in 2012, with a total of 46 million tonnes of fresh produce. The country’s export volumes are continuing to increase in line with production. In 2012, 650,000t of fresh fruit, 1.28mt of citrus and 1.07mt of fresh vegetables were exported. In total, some 3.02mt of fresh fruit and vegetables were exported.

Turkish exporters are placing great emphasis on the health and environmental considerations of customers and ensuring they meet all the appropriate legislative and market requirements. Assurance schemes such as ISO 9001, ISO 22000, HACCP, GAP and GlobalGAP back up exporters’ quality, food-safety and environmental credentials.

Citrus is the most important product group within the fruit and vegetable sector. Turkey exported some 1.2mt of citrus in 2012, with easy peelers making up the largest segment with some 417,000t. Lemons follow with 375,000t exported, then comes oranges and grapefruit with 326,000t and 168,000t respectively. Apart from citrus fruit, tomatoes, grapes and cherries are also important lines, with 562,000t, 210,000t and 56,000t.

The most important markets for Turkish produce exports generally are the Russian Federation, Iraq, Germany, Ukraine and Bulgaria. For citrus, the most important markets are the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Romania.

As well as these markets, Turkish exporters engage in different promotional activities with the aim of raising awareness of the quality of the nation’s produce, increasing the export share in existing markets and penetrating new target markets.

The main promotional activities are planned and activated by the Turkish Citrus Promotion Group, which was established in 2007 with the permission of the Undersecretariat for Foreign Trade. The main aim of the Promotion Group is to increase demand for Turkish citrus both locally and globally. As part of its efforts a wide range of activities are carried out to help establish the branding of Turkish citrus fruit.

Among the activities for 2012 carried out by the Citrus Promotion Group is participating in international fairs, both in Turkey and in different countries such as World Food Moscow in the Russian Federation, Foodex Japan, World of Perishables in Dubai, Fruit Logistica in Germany, Asia Fruit Logistica in Hong Kong, Iran Agrofood and Agro Food Erbil in Iraq.

One of the most significant events of the year was the news that the 14th International Citrus Congress will take place in Mersin, Turkey in 2020. It is expected that this congress will help boost the fresh fruit and vegetable sector and the quality of Turkish citrus will be promoted internationally.

As well as taking part in the fairs, several sectoral trade missions were aimed at particular target markets in order to set up meetings with potential buyers. The projects of different research institutes covering citrus production were also supported.

As well as the promotional activities carried out by the Citrus Promotion Group, Turkish exporters took part in important International Fairs all around the world, either individually or under the national banner.

The next stop on the calendar is at Fruit Logistica 2013 in Berlin from 6-8 February. Turkey is organising the nation’s appearance, with some 21 companies from the fresh fruit and vegetable and packaging sectors taking part for the tenth time. As the leading body for the sector, Mediterranean Exporter Unions carries out the duties of the secretariat and co-ordination throughout Turkey, ensuring the development and improvement of the sector. —

The Turkish Pavilion will be in Hall 1.1 and will cover a total area of 700 sq m. The Turkish Citrus Promotion Group also be in the same pavilion.