Saffet Kalyoncu, head of the Eastern Black Sea Exporters' Association (DKİB), reported that Trabzon, exported 294 thousand 884 tons of fresh fruit and vegetables to 27 countries in return for 179 million 46 thousand 128 USD (around 149 million Euro).
Kalyoncu, in his written statement emphasized that the northern city of Trabzon is an important exporter of fresh fruits and vegetables and ranks forth in the country in terms of export volume. "Trabzon-based exporters successfully expanded their global market" he added.
Kalyoncu admitted that exporters focused only on Russia for the last 25 years, but he said that this tendency changed due to difficulties with this destination. Therefore, he stated that exporters needed alternative markets and today Trabzon exports to 27 countries including European countries, especially Eastern Europe and the Balkans together with the Middle Eastern region.
Hong Kong is a new destination market
Kalyoncu pointed out to the exporters' success to reach to the Far East and that Hong Kong became a new destination market last year. He announced the new initiative in 2019 to increase the export of fresh fruits and vegetables and said:
"Exporters based in Trabzon invested a lot in this area. Exporters who possess packaging and processing plants, greenhouse fields and a good transportation network with fleet of trucks and Ro-Ro boats contributed a lot in the development of the sector. However, they need support from the state in order to ease unexpected obstacles in the customs and also in the domestic production and logistics because the costs have increased a lot."
Source: Haberturk