Turkey exported chestnuts to 32 countries last year and earned 43,3 million USD.
According to the Aegean Exporters' Association, in 2017 Turkey exported 9 thousand 866 tons of chestnuts and got a revenue of 37 million USD (32,3 million Euro). In 2018, the volume of export increased to 13 thousand chestnuts and the revenue generated from this export increased by 17% and totaled 43,3 million USD (37,8 million Euro).
The top importer of Turkish chestnuts last year was Italy. Turkey exported 32 million USD (27,9 million Euro) worth of chestnuts to Italy. Italy was followed by Lebanon with 6 million 616 thousand USD (5,78 million Euro) and Germany with 948 thousand USD (828 thousand Euro).
The largest annual increase in chestnuts export is seen in Qatar. The revenue generated from this export increased from 5 thousand (4,3 thousand) to 42 thousand USD (36,7 thousand Euro).
The goal is to make 50 million USD
Hayrettin Ucak, head of the Aegean Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Exporters' Association said that Turkey is one of the world leaders in chestnuts production.
Ucak emphasized that they would like to reach new markets as well and said: "Italy process Turkish chestnuts and produce new products and sell them. We also need to focus on chestnut products. Besides, we need to keep our current markets and add new one to those."
Pointing out to the difficulties in harvesting chestnuts, Ucak said: "We wish to increase our revenue from exports of chestnuts to 50 million USD (43,6 million Euro) in 2019. If all goes well in terms of productivity and climate, I believe that we can manage to do this."
Half of the production comes from Aydin
Bilal Tarhan from Sultanhisar's Agriculture Chamber stated that Aydin, a western Turkish city, is well known not only for its figs but also for its chestnuts. Tahran emphasized that Aydin is important both in exports and in the domestic market and said: "25 thousand of the overall 60 thousand chestnuts production comes from Aydin. Therefore, we produce the most chestnuts in Turkey. Our chestnuts are easy to peel and they have a long shelf life. Italy is our main customer. This year we have an increased production and an increased export. However, due to the currency crisis our exporters could not benefit from this opportunity. I believe that this year will be the golden year for chestnuts."
Source: Haberturk