Turkey is the biggest grower of cherries in the world and 3rd biggest exporter and now it wants to enter into China market, one of the biggest consumer markets in the world.
The Aegean Region Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Exporters Association Chairman Hayrettin Ucak: “We have been working for awhile to explore alternative markets. As a result, 9 Turkish companies have been granted permission by the Chinese authorities to export cherries, starting this year, immediately after the first harvest. It is our ambition to export 50,000 tons annually to China, the quality of our products are that good.
We will use air freight for transport as the cherry is a very valuable fruit in China, it is a symbol of wealth, and can be sold for almost 5 times higher than the sale price in Turkey.
US cherries are the most imported into the China market but if we can comply with the pesticide regulations, we can gain a strong position in that market.
After China, we will also explore the Taiwanese market. We will have a delegation visiting from Taiwan in the upcoming months to visit cherry farms.
Turkey has exported 183 million USD worth of cherry in 2016 and with a 13 % decline 159 million USD worth of cherry in 2017. Germany was ranked as the top export destination with 84 million USD which made up 52% of the total cherry exports. This was followed by Russia with 22 million USD and Netherlands with 12 million USD.
In 2017, 2.1 million USD worth of cherries were exported to Hong Kong, followed by 1 million USD to Singapore and 400,000 USD to Malaysia.”
Source: TRT Haber