The Turkish cherry season is about to start and the season should be better than last year. Volumes will be healthier, as last year there was simply too much supply. Exports of the cherries to China is currently on hold, while government officials work out the procedures in regards to the Mediterranean fruit fly, but there are plenty of other Asian and European markets for the produce.
The cherry season will start next month and according to Coskun Eren, marketing manager for Turkish exporter Eren, the season should be better than is was last year: “We expect a good cherry season ahead of us, the weather was kind so far. Cold, but not freezing at night and hot but, not scorching during the day. Overall the weather has been hotter than it was last year, which means we should see an early season. This is almost always a positive for Turkish produce. We expect the season to start as early as April 20th with early varieties and the season should last until August.”
Last year the amount of cherries harvested was rather large. Eren expects this season to be a lot more average in terms of quantities: “We’re glad to say we think volumes will be normal, which is great after last season. Last year we had a large crop, which resulted in uneven prices and smaller sizes overall. This year the crop isn’t small and the volumes aren’t too high. We expect to break 2000 tons of exports this year with our current program.”
Although China loves cherries, the Turkish cherries will not be able to be exported to the Chinese market for now, Eren explains. “China has recently issued a document that they are suspending the cherry trade from Turkey again until both governments can figure out some procedures about the Mediterranean fruit fly, so exporting cherries to China is out of the question for now. However, we have many markets to choose from.”
“We can always chip to Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong via air, and in terms of truck options the EU has slowly seen an increase in demand for the Turkish cherry over the years, and we believe this year we might shine there, due to our ability to cope with analysis and MRL values. Russia is our main market of course, they love Eren Tarim cherries over there.” Eren says.
Although cherries are one of the major products for Eren, there are quite a few other stonefruits the exporter will be focusing on at the same time: “Cherry isn’t the only stonefruit we’ll handle over the coming months. We’ll also be exporting apricots, nectarines, peaches and plums. This year we are adding very interesting varieties in nectarines and flat peaches - Ufo or Paraguay Peach - as a part of our Research & Development program in the field,” Eren concludes.
Eren
Tel: +90 5336955802
Email: [email protected]
www.erentarim.com
