There’s a lot of competition in the Indian market when it comes to apples. One Turkish exporter aims to become the biggest supplier for Turkish apples in that region. However, Iran and Poland are worthy competitors, both with specialties in certain varieties. Luckily for the Turkish, their harvest seems to be of good quality this year, so the exporter says.
Alper Kerim, owner of Turkish apple exporter, Demir Fresh Fruits, says they’ve been in the midst of their apple season for a couple of months: “We’ve started our export operations with the Gala variety almost two months ago. Of course, we also export other varieties like Red Delicious, Granny Smith, Golden, Fuji, which have followed the Gala. We’re about to speed up day by day and our peak season time will be January and February 2022. Volumes are almost the same as last year, but the quality is much better especially the colorization on the apple is of a higher level. We will be struggling to find XF grade apples this year. It seems all of them are of premium grade.”
With the exporter focusing on the Indian market, they meet competition from countries like Iran and Poland, Kerim explains. “Demir Fresh Fruits is the third biggest Turkish apple exporter in Turkey and our main market is India. In this Indian market, the Turkish apple industry competes with Iran and Poland. For the Red Delicious variety, our biggest competitor is Iran and when it comes to Gala apples, Poland is a big rival for us as well. Iran has big volumes this year and they ship a lot to the Indian market. On the other end of competition, Washington apples come with a high tax rate in India and the high apple prices in Europe will affect the Turkish apples positively.”
Although the world is having big logistical issues, there aren’t any challenges in this regard for Kerim. A larger challenge is dealing with the increased production costs, he explains: “The apple prices are rather stable, similar to last year. This is due to the Turkish currency losing value against the US dollar. However, our costs have increased a lot compared to the previous season. Production costs and packing material costs are higher, which in turn affects our prices. In terms of logistics we’re doing alright. We have commitments and fixed programs with our customers, which is why we have all the time in the world to sit down and talk with the shipping lines before the season begins. This has resulted in guarantees for equipment from these lines for the entire season, which helps us to continue our operation in a smooth manner.”
Working with Indian fresh produce importer IG International, Kerim hopes to become the biggest supplier of Turkish apples to the Indian markets within just a couple of years: “Our well reputed brand, DeBa, is getting more famous in India every day, because of our sustainable quality. We have started our promotion works with our biggest partner in India, IG international. Our goal is to be the best and highest volume Turkish apple brand in India market in three years.” He concludes.
For more information:
Alper Kerim
Demir Fresh Fruits
Tel: +90 532 514 2080
Email: alper@dff.com.tr
www.dff.com.tr