The kick-off for the Turkish pomegranate season has been positive, says Beyazit Afiyon, sales manager for Turkish produce exporter Everfresh Tarım: “The pomegranate season has started well in Turkey. Although it is harvested early, its quality is quite good. It has features acceptable to European markets. The fact that the inner part is close to red and the outer shell is red in color, the absence of shell defects and the unbroken flowers indicate high quality. This year, pomegranate volumes are lower than in previous years in European Mediterranean countries. Therefore, the interest in Turkish pomegranate will increase and I predict that it will be a better year for us compared to previous years.”
Not all pomegranates are harvested yet, but it’s looking like there will be more than enough volumes available for export, Afiyon explains. “Pomegranate harvest in Turkey begins in the Mersin region. Afterwards, harvests continue in İzmir, Denizli and Antalya regions. It is possible to say that the product is abundant this year. The weather conditions have been good and the crops are coloring beautifully. In addition, we need to give conscious Turkish farmers their due. In order to obtain good quality products, it is necessary to use good practices to grow these products.”
Ensuring they operate in the right way will allow Everfresh to retain the customers they gain during the pomegranate season. They’ll be dealing with heavy competition, so making sure their product is of the best quality it can be is the goal: “I expect a good pomegranate season this year. You cannot get good results from bad practices. We aim to preserve the place of Turkish pomegranate in the market by packaging good quality products in the correct manner. European markets, Pacific Asian countries and Canada are our target markets this season. In these markets, we come face to face with countries with high production power such as Spain, Italy, Greece, Egypt and China. The most important way we can overcome this is by only sending the right quality, for the right price,” he concludes.
For more information:
Beyazit Afiyon
Everfresh Tarım Ürünleri
Tel: +90 541 275 85 20
Email: [email protected]
www.everfreshtr.com