EU: Turkish cherries arrive on a good market

The first Turkish cherries arrived in the EU a couple of weeks ago, according to a Turkish exporter there was a bit of rain damage on the early varieties but the cherries now arriving from the Aegeon region, in the west of the country are of good quality. The volume is expected to be good, but of course this is weather dependent.

Cherry volumes from Italy, France and Spain are all down this season due to adverse weather conditions, so the Turkish fruit is arriving on a relatively good market, according to the exporter the prices are pretty good at the moment, at between 22 and 26 Euro per 5 kilo., but, he also says production costs have increased within Turkey.

Turkey has a population of around 75 million people and the domestic demand for cherries is also strong. The country's economy has not been greatly effected by the economic crisis. Russia is a big market for Turkish cherries, with some exporters sending a truck-full every week.

The acreage for cherries is increasing every year to meet demand, the most popular variety is Napoleon. The season will run through to the end of August.