Turkey's current situation is alarming, as the country has hit 100 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of March the 17th. The first fatal victim to the virus was also announced. In terms of citrus export, demand from Europe has tripled, says one Turkish exporter.
Turkish citrus exporter Eren Tarim has seen that the spread of coronavirus in Turkey is inevitable, after more than 100 cases were confirmed, says head of marketing Corkun Eren: “The general outlook on the virus is divided here. Whilst some people are very concerned, others are totally relaxed and think of the situation still like the common flu. But in general, most of the people are informed and scared. The government especially is taking this very seriously; all schools, crowded areas, football matches and most unnecessary shops are closed now. I personally believe a curfew is also on the way as soon as next week. Turkey did take these steps as early as soon as the first case was confirmed, so I hope we will get through this somewhat better than the worst hit countries in Europe, however I believe the situation will be similar to Europe here in the upcoming weeks.”
Naturally some of the labor for Eren Tarim is also worried about the situation, Eren states they are trying everything they can to keep everybody safe: “Our workforce is kind of divided too, some are concerned and some are not. But the management gathered quickly after the first confirmed case in Turkey and we issued a broad spectrum of precautions for our workforce and our products. Workforce education about the virus, providing sanitary equipment, daily spraying and sanitizing every meter square of the facility, "work from home" status for staff that are not needed in the office and scanning people with thermometers on entry every day are just a couple of these measures. We have a policy published on our website to inform everybody of our approach. I can say that we are ready for the virus as a company, as ready as someone can be, that is.”
As far as the business side, Eren Tarim can’t slow down, as demand for their produce has tripled as of a week ago: “We are working, there are no cuts in production. We have the necessary labor force, logistics capabilities and stock of lemons, mandarins, grapefruits and oranges in our cold rooms as well as a constant team in the Antalya region for the vegetables. I would have to say our sales have increased around 300 per cent in the past week, Europe is having problems with procurement and they are turning to us for their full programs,” Eren explains.
The company tries to sell their produce evenly among their clients: “We are trying our best to give every customer at least one truck and not lean on just one person. At this time everyone needs the product and it’s not just about selling to the highest bidder, our business is food and everyone needs it more now. Especially the demand for Vitamin C has increased dramatically as people are trying to give their immune system a boost, we are trying to deliver to every country evenly at this point.”
Although there will be problems, Eren is certain everything will be done to ensure the transport of fruit and vegetables to Europe: “The major challenge is logistics. We’re having issues finding drivers that are willing to travel to Europe. People simply don't want to go and this is very understandable. We have our own logistics department with reliable connections under our belt so are coping with the issue at the moment but still I feel we will have to utilize sea transport instead of land transport more and more in the upcoming weeks. Air cargo is also an option, but currently most of the flight paths are totally blocked. Another issue is the possibility of a total border lockdown for the EU. However, we believe even if that happens, they will allow food items to go through. It will still be a pain to navigate through all the borders and the procedures, but we can't stop now. We are not producing cars or toys or perfumes, the fresh produce industry has to stay on duty. It’s an obligation both to our customers and to humanity at this point. All the other issues that we can control such as labor, stock for basic necessity items, and our staff's protection are already thought of and covered by Eren Tarim.” Eren concludes.
For more information:
Coskun Eren
Eren Tarim
Tel: +90 324 454 1487-88
Email: coskun@erentarim.com
www.erentarim.com