The citrus fruit season which runs from September 2017 to April 2018 has come to an end.
The Mersin Commerce Association Chairman Abdullah Ozdemir: “According to the trade figures, citrus fruit exports have increased by 14 % in volume and reached 1.8 million tons for the season. 75 % of our exports have been to Russia, Iraq, Ukraine and Saudi Arabia. 40% of our exports were mandarins, 27% were lemons, 24 % were oranges and the remaining 9 % were grapefruits. Our country has generated an income of 924 million USD from these exports.
Almost 40% of out 4.8 million tons of local citrus fruits production is exported. To increase the production is dependent on our export performance. Compared to 5 years ago, our export volume has increased by 30 % in total. However in terms of monetary turnover, the increase is only 4 %.
One of the main reasons behind that is the price competition, now the income per ton went down from 625 USD to 500 USD. Mandarin, which is our main export product, brings us 494 USD per ton, this number is 1,000 USD per ton for South Africa and 980 USD per Spain. For orange we receive 390 USD per ton compared to 830 USD per ton by Egypt and 780 USD by Spain. We earn 625 USD per ton for lemons whereas this figure is at 1,200 USD per ton for Spain and 1,030 USD per ton for Argentina.
In sum, we need to take some steps in order not to lose our position in the export market of citrus fruits. Germany, France, Netherlands, US and UK are the top citrus fruit importing countries in the world and our share is below than 1% in these markets. These 5 countries imported 5.4 million tons of citrus fruits in 2017. Spain has 43 % of the market share in these 5 countries, followed by Mexico with 15 % and South Africa with 12 %. We need to enter into these markets by analyzing the market needs and preference for varieties and grow these products at good quality.
Also we only have products for 6 months of the year compared to year around production in competing countries for these products, which affects our competitive position in the market. That’s why we need to spread our production to have year-round supply and we need to select varieties accordingly. Also we need to have proper cold storage and cool chains to minimize the post-harvest waste.
That’s why special incentives should be given to set up cold storage facilities. Additionally a new master plan for citrus fruits for national production and an incentive system that would encourage production of citrus fruits which are in demand in international markets could strengthen our position in our already existing export markets and help us to gain a position in the 5 top importing country markets which is the most crucial point of improvement for our products in the export market.”
Source: Mersin Haberci