After exporting many kinds of fruit, this will be the first year that Perla Fruit exports dragon fruit. According to Hamdi Taner, managing director of the Turkish produce exporter, the climate has resulted in a later start than expected: "The Turkish dragon fruit harvest season is delayed by two to three weeks this year, due to the cold temperatures Türkiye has experienced. The harvest has only just started, with early American varieties kicking the season off. The most popular varieties are Ruby Red and Magenta in red and Vietnam White in white fruit."
Taner feels that Perla Fruit has an advantage when it comes to dragon fruit, as they are much closer to the European market than other origins. "Our main export markets are England and other countries in Europe. Türkiye's most important advantage is its proximity to these markets, as they are reachable by truck. Thanks to this fact, Perla Fruit can supply the freshest quality with frequent deliveries. It's our first year exporting this fruit, so we will see what the actual demand is like this summer, but we already see that the interest is clearly there. The total acreage is around 100 hectares, where all of the dragon fruit is cultivated undercover. We do see a potential to expand this acreage, based on the actual demand of the fruit this summer."
To make sure all goes well in this debut season, Perla Fruit has invested heavily in food safety protocols: "The most critical challenge when it comes to dragon fruit is food safety. Perla Laboratory is a very important part of our dragon fruit operation, managing the residue risk. We are analyzing several samples of each grower, on a frequent basis, to deliver a safe product to our customers. In addition, all of our growers are under contract, working closely with our regional team, in order to execute a proper spraying program. Moreover, we have frequent training programs for our grower base to ensure all requirements and safety measures are being met," Taner concludes.
For more information
Hamdi Taner
Perla Fruit
Tel: +90 533 7959383
Email: [email protected]
www.perlafruit.com