“The reason for the delayed start to the Bursa fig season was the weather,” noted Ayse Ozler of Ozler Ziraat. “It got cooler than usual about two weeks before the start of harvesting, and that caused a delay.” The later start, however, helped fruit mature into larger sizes. While that was good for the open market, it caused some early problems with many of the programs growers have with retailers. Because retailers opt for pre-packed figs, which require smaller sizes, the start of the season had growers scrambling for smaller figs. But Ozler noted that a full range of sizes are now available and ready for shipment to both open market clients and retail buyers. In fact, this year's crop is expected to be one of the largest on record.
“Growers set records for production and export volumes last year,” said Ozler. “I think this year growers will break that record, and I think it's due mostly to the weather. It's not so much that the acreage is increasing, it's that people are learning how to better care for their acreage and also because of the weather.”
Ozler noted that they are unique among Turkish fig growers in that they mainly focus on Middle Eastern and Asian markets. Because of the distance, they can't transport their wares by truck, as most sellers who work with Western European buyers do. Instead, they send their figs to their customers by air, and the logistics that that kind of operation requires puts them in a unique position to reap good returns in eastern markets. That's because there is less competition than there is in Western Europe and because Asian and Middle Eastern markets have lots of growth potential.
“Most people in Europe know what a fig is and they are used to figs,” said Ozler. “But a fig is something new for the Far East market, they've only been discovering it for the last five years.”
For more information:
Ayse Ozler
Özler Ziraat
Tel: +90-322-454-77-41
Email: ayseozler@gmail.com
www.hasat.net