Although volumes are still low, Turkish stone fruits are slowly coming on to the market. In the following weeks, the stone fruit season will fully kick off.
Coskun Eren, marketing manager for Turkish fresh produce exporter Eren, says: “The growing period this year has been exceptionally good. We have already started with the greenhouse products. Currently, we have apricots, peaches, and nectarines available. Although the prices are still high due to the scarcity of the product, I believe we will have truck-fulfilling volumes in ten days' time. We estimate the open field to start on 27-29 April for Nectarines, the first week of May will be the start for peaches and apricots. Once the open field starts, prices will come down and volumes will increase. We usually continue the season of stone fruits until September.”
Eren expects a solid harvest in terms of volumes this year, which will naturally lead to smaller sizes, he explains. “Volumes are high compared to last year. Last year was really a disaster, one of the worst we’ve seen. This year, we did not have any problems with the weather, so I would say the volumes are up between 20 and 40 per cent for the early regions, such as Mersin and Adana, compared to last year. This is a large difference, and it should reflect both on the price and the size of the product, meaning better prices than last year and slightly smaller sizes overall. As for the late region, namely the Bursa region, it’s still a bit early to say anything. However, I hear that the weather has been great almost everywhere in the Mediterranean, thus we are also expecting good things from that region as well.”
Last year had a very volatile situation during the stone fruit season. This year, both demand and prices should be a bit more stable, Eren states: “The current demand is within normal boundaries, not high, but not low either. Last year, the demand was very high and also unsteady, while the prices were also very high, which is a deadly combination. One day you make a deal for a product, and the next day the price increases or decreases by 30 per cent. It was a very dangerous situation. This year, the demand and the supply are more normal; I personally favor a steady demand over an explosive one. I believe the demand will pick up once the open field season starts, and I expect a good season with steady demand throughout the year.”
With the new stone fruit season, Eren hopes to add news varieties and increase its market share in the Nordic region. “Last year we did less trade than expected in Europe, it was almost impossible to sell anything. We hope that this changes this year and to have a steady volume in the EU like usual. Russia is our main player in stone fruits, but we also do air cargo to North America and Far Eastern regions as well. We especially hope to further expand our stone fruit reach in North European countries, such as Denmark, Sweden and Norway. This year we are also adding the flat nectarines to our product belt along the flat peaches we added some years ago, so we hope to see some traction there as well.”
“We expect a great season ahead of us. When the volume is high and the quality is good, things rarely go bad. This year, we will have a lot of product options to choose from and when that is the case, you usually can get a good deal in terms of quality for a reasonable price,” Eren concludes.
For more information:
Coskun Eren
Eren
Tel: +90 533 695 5802
Email: [email protected]
www.freshanatolia.com