Mugla, is one of Turkey's most important citrus production hubs. The city produced 270 thousand tons of citrus and 50 tons of pomegranates this season. Both farmers and consumers were content with the higher production.
Koycegiz, Ortaca and the Dalaman districts produce and export citrus fruits. Salim Collu, the Ortaca Agriculture Chamber's president, said that Mugla is the leading production center in the Aegean region. Emphasizing that the citrus production and export is very important for the Turkish economy, Collu said: "Yields are high, we collected a great amount of products. However, prices were not as high as expected in the domestic market."
Collu said that 80% of Mugla's citrus production comes from Ortaca and continued: "Since we had a higher production of citrus this season compared to previous years, especially lemon and orange prices decreased. We couldn't sell some of our lemons."
Collu pointed to the increased export in citrus thanks to the Russian market. According to Collu, the highest revenue came from oranges and pomegranates. Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Central Asian countries, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Italy and the Netherlands were among the countries to import Turkish citrus fruits.
"We had no problems in export"
Pointing out problems with the Russian market due to the Mediterranean fruit fly, Collu said: "Since we had taken preemptive measures, our products were of high quality. This is why we did not have any problems with the fruits that we sent to Russia. None of our products were sent back. We still continue to export citrus to Russia."
Source: Haberekspres