Approximately 46,000 tons of fresh fruits were exported to Russia from Turkey in the first quarter of 2018, generating a revenue of 35.2 million USD.
Due to export restrictions imposed by Russia on Turkish products because of the ongoing political crisis between two countries, exports of apples, pomegranate, strawberry, pear, grape and plum exports were stopped last year.
However as the crisis situation has been gradually resolved, these restrictions have been lifted. Consequently, 22,500 tons of apples were exported in the first three months of the year for an amount of 17 million USD. Additionally 16,500 tons of pomegranate were exported to Russia for 12 million USD. The amount of pears exported was 2,400 tons in return for 1.5 million USD and the amount of strawberries exported was 816 tons which were sold for 1.6 million USD. Lastly 981 tons of grapes were exported for 975,000 USD and 22 tons of plums were exported for 21,400 USD.
The East Black Sea region of Turkey was responsible for 2.5 million USD and 3,398 tons of exports in this period.
The Chairman of East Black Sea Exporters Association Ahmet Hamdi Gurdogan: “Russia is the most important export market for the sector. With the elimination of restrictions, our exports are now steadily increasing. The rise is not only in quantity but also in variety. Our goals are even higher, we hope to increase these numbers even more. We have set up a quick and high quality supply chain to ensure that Russian consumers receive the best quality products in the most fresh condition possible and we are reaping the rewards of it.”
Source: Memleket