Supermarket chains are the main customers for the tomatoes grown in greenhouses in Turkey, says Kenan Aslan, manager of Turkish fresh produce exporter Sinerji: “The greenhouse production is quite high due to the mild weather in Turkey during the winter months. The vast majority of greenhouse production is for export, and the largest buyers of this production are supermarket chains.
"Due to the increase in energy prices, price increases in greenhouse production products were expected. As there was a lack of production in the Netherlands, the demand for tomatoes in EU member countries and Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Eastern European countries has increased.”
When looking at Turkey's total tomato production, only a fraction of it is exported for table use, Aslan explains. “A total of 13 million tons of tomato production was realized in 2022 in Turkey. Approximately 4 million tons of this production was tomato paste, and the remaining 9 million tons were produced for table use. Approximately 530 thousand tons of 9 million tons produced as tableware were exported.
"Our target products for market programs are not just tomatoes but also fresh figs and pomegranates. Our fresh fig infrastructure is very strong and has an annual capacity of approximately 2,000 tons. We continue our work at full speed to bring the Bursa Black Fig, one of the best fig species in the world, to all the consumers’ tables.”
“We are taking strong initiatives to improve our production and logistics infrastructure. Our BRC-certified production facilities and GlobalGAP-certified production are increasing rapidly. In this context, we are working working with chain markets, and it has accelerated. In order to support these works, we participated in Fruit Logistica 2023 as a participant, and we had a productive fair. In addition, we have established a laboratory according to European norms, which will be operational soon,” Aslan concludes.
For more information:
Kenan Aslan
Sinerji
Tel.: +90 554 845 8965
Email: kenan@sinerjifresh.com
www.sinerjifresh.com