The Turkish apple season has started and prices are higher than they were last year. This is due to increased production costs and the changing value of the US Dollar and Turkish Lira. However, one Turkish exporter claims that the quality and coloring of the apples is at a top level this season, putting them ahead of the competition.
The Turkish weather has ensured a good color on the apples this season, says Muhsin Riza, export director of Turkish fruit and vegetable exporter Ideal Tarim: “Turkish apples are looking very good this season. I can say, this is the year when it comes to the best color. Because of the difference between day and night temperature changes, apple colorization has developed really well. We’re currently harvesting the Gala varieties and export is taking off with increasing numbers every day. Overall the weather was pretty good for the apples, we did not experience any heavy rains or damages from hail this year.”
It seems most of Ideal Tarim’s apples will be heading East, as the red varieties are most popular in India, and the green variety sees solid demand in the Far East, Riza explains. “I expect India to be the strongest market for red apple exports from Turkey. However, there are other countries in the Far East that have a very strong demand for green varieties. We are supplying India fully with non-GMO and vegan certificated apples. We do everything we can to ensure that our apples have no pesticide residues and animal originated residues.”
Riza states it’s good to see that the logistical issues of last season are not repeated this year, as transport prices are now much more reasonable and stable: “Because of the pandemic, last year we had a lot of troubles at the logistical side of things. Prices of transport were unstable and transfer times were unexpectedly changing at random. But this year we started out on a good level. Prices are stable right now as well as in a good place and transfer times are more accurate and predictable.”
Overall, both prices for Turkish buyers as well as the export price have increased this year compared to last season, Riza explains. “The prices for apples have increased by almost 1.5 times here in Turkey. This also has to do with the USD/TL currency situation, but this is why export prices are also higher than last year. However, the quality of the apples this season puts us ahead when we compared it to the production of other countries.”
“We’re trying to harvest our apples without any mechanical damage and with perfect starch levels. It’s very important to put healthy and harvest-ready apples in the cold storage in order to cover our customers’ needs at every point in the season.” Riza concludes.
Muhsin Riza
Ideal Tarim Urunleri Tic. As
Tel: +90 (530) 552 83 06
Email: ragdag@idealtarim.com.tr
www.verita.com.tr