Turkish apples are thriving in the Indian market. As the apple season is wrapping up, quantities of the higher quality apples are going down, leading to higher prices as a result. As demand is soaring, some smaller Turkish exporters have sent lesser quality apples to the Indian market, which hasn’t been appreciated.
Alper Kerim, owner of Turkish apple exporter, Demir Fresh Fruits, says the demand for Turkish apples in India is increasing by 20 per cent every year. “Our apple season is still going in full swing and it’s been so busy that we couldn’t have a single timeout at any point, so far. Our brand is circulating all markets because of the solid quality and we are even rejecting some orders politely at this moment. The demand for Turkish apples in India is increasing day by day. If we look at the past five years, the demand has increased by 20 per cent every year compared to the season that came before it. At this point, we expect Turkish apples will reach 40 per cent of the market-share in the Indian market over the next years.”
Some Indian buyers have been disappointed after buying Turkish apples from smaller exporters, as the quality has sometimes been lacking. Kerim hopes Indian importers will choose Turkish sellers that have experience and know the Indian market.
“The floods in India have not impacted our exports negatively, as we haven’t stopped sending shipments since September. That being said, as the season is coming to an end, a couple of small exporters are having issues, as they did send some lower quality apples due to the huge demand in India. Given that level of demand, they figured they’d be happy to consume these lower quality apples, however this is a completely wrong take. The Indian market always requests long shaped and colourful apples, like we’re still packing at the moment. I definitely recommend Indian buyers to be careful and order from big exporters, otherwise they could encounter similar issues once they receive their products.”
As premium apple stocks are running lower, the price for these apples are increasing, Kerim explains: “After January, the apple prices increased around 5 to 10 per cent, however now that March is ending, we expect the prices to increase by 15 per cent at the very minimum. This is due to the volumes of premium quality apples is running low, while market prices in India is increased for these high quality apples. Luckily we make our logistic agreements pre-season to make sure we don’t run into any problems during the season. Hence, we’re not having any issues and are on the safe side with our shipping partner. So no issues there.”
“We’re very thankful we’ll be able to attend Fruit Logistica in Berlin once again this year. We’ve already scheduled too many meetings, which is always a positive. We’re looking forward to seeing our partners in Berlin after such a long time.” Kerim concludes.
For more information:
Alper Kerim
Demir Fresh Fruits
Tel: +90 532 514 2080
Email: alper@dff.com.tr
www.dff.com.tr