Aksehir's cherries, grown in Konya and known in the Turkish market as the “Napoleon” cherry, are exported to many European countries, Russia and Iraq. Aksehir cherries make up 24 % Turkish cherry exports and due the high quality, they are in great demand in export markets. Annually around 50,000 tons of cherries are grown in the area and about half of them are exported. 40 % of exports go to Russia whereas the rest goes mainly to European countries.
Aksehir cherries have also received the geographical identification designation from the European Union for their color, durability, taste and appearance. Cherry production is the main source of income in the area and the biggest cherries are sold to European markets whereas the medium sized cherries are sold to Russia and smaller one’s are sold to Iraq and Far East markets.
Organically grown cherries are sold for around 0.5 USD per kg whereas conventionally grown cherries are sold at 0.35 – 0.40 USD per kg. The Napoleon variety is sold at 1 – 1.5 USD per kg. The cost of cherry to a grower per kg is around 0.20 USD labor cost, 0.05 USD fertilizer and chemical material costs and other costs are around 0.10 USD. They all add up to 0.35 USD per kg cost for the grower so the sale price needs to be above that for growers to profit. The growers also realize that they need to start competing with growers from other countries instead of competing with growers in the area.
Source: Hurriyet