The Turkish citrus season will kick off in late September with the early lemons, and Ms Ayse Ozler of Özler Ziraat, who attended the latest edition of Asia Fruit Logistica, states that given the current shortage, consumers are really looking forward to the arrival of Turkish Interdonato lemons, whose harvest and export will start as soon as the government grants its permission. "The market conditions for these lemons should consequently be quite good, considering that the harvest is also expected to be a little smaller this year, as some of the flowers were lost. The impact varies from orchard to orchard, but on average the shortage will be of about 20-25%,” she explains.
Another factor to take into account is the current lemon boom, especially in Asia, which has motivated countries like Egypt, which was never a big lemon producer in the past, to try taking advantage of the situation. In any case, she assures that Egypt’s production volume is not comparable with Turkey’s and the good thing is that the Interdonato is the early variety that fills the gap between the southern hemisphere season and the arrival of the Spanish production.
Another product for which prospects are quite good is grapefruit. It arrives around mid-October, with exports starting around 20-25 October. However, Asia’s demand from Turkey is still mostly lemons, and for Ozler Ziraat, Asia, especially Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore, is actually the biggest volume taker of Interdonato. There is also demand from the Philippines and Thailand, but unfortunately Ozler Ziraat don’t have the necessary protocols.
She points out that one of the few causes for concern for Turkey’s citrus industry as a whole lies in the appearance of a new thrips in banana greenhouses. Such facilities are built in some of Turkey’s main citrus production areas, and the insect may potentially affect late lemons, but its impact is still unknown and she won’t have more information until December. In any case, she assures that Interdonato lemons will not be affected by this in any way.
For more information:
Ayse Ozler
Özler Ziraat
Tel: +90-322-454-77-41
Email: ayseozler@gmail.com
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