Turkey's Union of Chambers of Agriculture (TZOB) Chairman Semsi Bayraktar reported a 55.6 % increase in greenhouse fruit and vegetable production over a 10-year period where the production has risen from 5.53 million tons to 7.863 million tons.
Bayraktar, in his written statement, noted that thanks to greenhouse production, many products are available on the market throughout the year.
Bayraktar reminded that as of last year vegetable production in greenhouses reached 30,826 million tons, which covers 24% of all vegetable production in Turkey. This number has risen from 18.8% in 2007. Currently 7,384 million tons of vegetables are produced in greenhouses in Turkey, representing a 53.3% increase for the 2007–2017 period. Bayraktar also added that the share of greenhouse production in fruits also increased from 1.6% to 2.3%, from 235,000 tons to 479,000 tons.
Bayraktar: “The share of tomatoes in greenhouse production is 48.7% of the total greenhouse production of fruits and vegetables and 51.9% of the vegetables produced in greenhouses. According to the 2017 data, 3,830 million tons of tomatoes, 1,122 tons of cucumber, 791,000 tons of watermelon, 186,000 tons of cantaloupe, 395,000 tons of green pepper, 101,000 tons of sweet pepper, 345,000 tons of eggplants, 219,000 tons of zucchini, 48,000 tons of green beans and 67,000 tons of lettuce is produced in Turkey in greenhouses.
87% of bananas, 61% of cucumbers, 60% sweet pepper, 49% of zucchini, 42% of green pepper, 39% of eggplants and strawberries, 36% of lettuce and 30% of tomatoes in Turkey is grown in greenhouses.
During the same 10-year period, the population of Turkey has increased from 70.5 million to 80.8 million, a 14.5% increase. For the same period, the growth rate in greenhouse production is 55.6%, which consequently led to an increase in the amount of greenhouse fruit and vegetable production per capita in Turkey from 71.6 kilos to 97.3 kilos.
Source: Dunya