Turkey: Optimism despite Russian sanctions at Growtech Eurasia

The tension between Turkey and Russia keeps occupying the front pages of today's newspapers. Last week during the Growtech Eurasia in Antalya, Turkey, it was also the talk of town; while the two countries seemed to be each other's best friends in regards to greenhouse development and marketing during last year's show, nowadays not a single truck with Turkish produce can cross the border to Russia, and not even a single Turkish greenhouse builder may be allowed to deliver their technology to Russia. The prices for Turkish greenhouse products have collapsed and at the show we experienced the first signs of trouble; Turkish greenhouse builder Nassan, known for larger greenhouse projects abroad was said to be bankrupt, partly due to the Russian situation.

All of this made the Growtech an interesting place to visit. Despite the fact that the Russian situation currently did not contribute to the domestic greenhouse development, many of the exhibitors were still optimistic and we saw a lot of smiling faces. This was due to the fact that the Growtech has become increasingly important for meeting new and existing clients and contacts from the Middle East; Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Turkmenistan; just to name a few countries that are building greenhouses non-stop and where development is not at a standstill. Many exhibitors were pleased with the amount of visitors from these areas.

We made a photo report from the show to show you the large amount of Turkish seed breeders and manufacturers of greenhouse technology that were exhibiting. Next to this many Dutch, Spanish and other international suppliers could be found at the show.

Click here to view the photo report.