There could be a challenging Turkish apple season coming, says Alp Eren Yaprak, commercial head of fresh produce exporter Engin Tarim. Volumes are expected to be similar to the previous season: “The Turkish apple volumes seem average and almost similar to last season in terms of total crop to be harvested. On the other hand, frequent and strong negative weather conditions since the spring have affected the general crop quality badly. This has caused significantly less availability of good quality apples, especially those suitable for export. Frequent and strong frosts during spring and unusual hails seen until mid-July were the main causes.”
Thanks to protection, the orchards of Engin Tarim have mostly been spared, but even their orchards will have to deal with a percentage of lower quality apples, Yaprak explains. “As Engin Tarim, although our orchards are affected by these heavy weather conditions, our 100 per cent coverage with hail nets and 80 per cent coverage against frost with wind machines and high-pressure sprinkler systems provide us protection and put us in a better condition compared to other growers. But still we’re affected too, even though we are almost fully covered with protection tools. We’re not out of the woods yet, as the ongoing hot weather conditions are more than trees can handle, just before the harvest time. If the weather continues like this on all the Mediterranean lines, it won’t be a surprise if the apple sizes are smaller than they should be in general.”
The Turkish exporter has committed to being able to produce the varieties that will be most popular in the near future. This means doing research and making sure the new varieties are planted ahead of time, Yaprak states: “In the last two years especially, we’ve spent a lot of time to study the varieties of the future, in terms of market demand, taste, flavor, durability, and being suitable to our environment. We’ve made partnerships with top breeders in the world, getting into club varieties which we think will dominate the market in the near future and conducting sensitive selection processes. We’ve already planted some of these, more than five new breeds, and will continue to plant and revise our orchards in order to be prepared for future and all markets. This will give us a strong edge on the global competition and provide our customers the luxury of getting ahead of the trends, all the time.”
Although Engin Tarim has its main focus on the market in India, other Asian countries are also important for the Turkish exporter. “India is our strongest market, with its soaring Red Delicious demand. Gulf countries are coming in second, with their advantage of geographical closeness. South East Asia comes right after, even though Turkey has protocols with a very limited number of ASEAN countries. The growing markets there, such as Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines are still not available for Turkey to export our apples to. Last but not least, our rising star is Africa, where we've centered our operations in Kenya. With the help of our global avocado business, we have a strong logistics and sales team within our office in Kenya and we are increasing our exports and sales to Africa, more than double every season. We have high hopes for the African market in the future.”
As the Turkish season is still in its early stages, Yaprak emphasizes that demand is currently going through the roof, as the most popular varieties aren’t as available just yet: “The season started very early and with very strong demand, especially from India. It has couple main reasons; first is the lack of availability of good quality apple, specifically in our main varieties like Red Delicious, Granny Smith and Golden. The second reason is the strong performance of Turkish apples for the last five to ten years in the export markets. However, next to expanding in these proven markets, we also have a lot of new markets that we want to enter. We even expect to be able to take the lead in some of these new markets, as we do know these territories, such as Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia. Colombia opened up for Turkey last year and we believe if we focus enough, we can grow in Central America in the coming years.”
“We’re expecting a very challenging season this year. There are many strong external factors affecting the upcoming season. The global recession is real, and we feel it to our cores since last year. People spend their money much more carefully, and become very selective with what they eat. Another challenge is the climate, which is getting more problematic. We hope better and stronger counter measures will be taken against climate change. I believe all farmers and growers should shout out louder than ever concerning the climate, as their livelihood depends on it,” Yaprak concludes.
For more information:
Alp Eren Yaprak
Engin Tarim
Email: [email protected]
https://www.engintarim.com.tr/
