The Turkish frosts earlier this year have resulted in a devastating apple season, with much lower production than in 2024, says Alper Kerim, owner of Turkish fruit exporter Demir Fresh Fruits (DFF): "The Turkish apple production is around 50 per cent lower compared to last year. The drop has been caused by the frosts that Turkish growers have endured. This was a three-day consecutive frost, which took place especially in the middle regions of Turkey. Temperatures dropped to minus 17 degrees for those three nights in a row, which is why none of the precautions could help any of the growers. It was the worst frost that happened in Turkey over the last 100 years."
The production might be 50 per cent lower, and exports have dropped even further than that, as Kerim emphasizes the local market has strong demand and high prices as well. "We still load some containers for export, but in all honesty, we're exporting about 80 per cent less than we did last year. Prices are also so high in Turkey due to local demand. On top of that, the condition of the apples is not as good as you'd hope when exporting, as a result of the frosts. This stops us from exporting as well, as we do not want any bad apples to be sold under our DeBa brand, which would make our customers unhappy."
According to Kerim, there are still some exports, but this also includes supplying apples from another origin: "We work with local market chains and local sales only. We still do some exports, but not too much. We have also set up in Iran, and we are able to supply Iranian apples and kiwis to our clients."
Kerim is confident that the Turkish apple industry will get back on its feet next year. "Nobody is expecting the same devastating situation again in Turkey, as this truly is a once-in-a-century kind of thing; the odds of it happening in two consecutive years would be very unlikely. As such, if weather conditions are nicer to us, we expect good volumes of apples and cherries for better prices, and we will continue our export operation as we've done for the last 15 years," he concludes.
For more information:
Alper Kerim
Demir Fresh Fruits
Tel: +90 532 514 2080
Email: [email protected]
www.dff.com.tr
