Board Member for the Chamber of Agriculture in Yuregir, Adana, Hulusi Melih Torun, in a written statement, states that Turkey performs close to 3% of citrus production in the world, but only around a third of this, 37% can be exported.
The citrus sector in Turkey produces 3.6 million tons of product, exports equate to 855 million Euro, and 5 million citizens make their livelihood from the sector, points out Torun. Yet in the sector, there is a scarcity in the number of customers and packaging-processing facilities; lack of buyer confidence, storage facilities, the degree of standardization, and the failure to be adequately informed about the market, is the problem according to him.
The harvest time is short which is why Torun believes that the focus should be on later varieties, he adds:
“Due to a very short citrus harvest duration, early-mid and late variety production and supply, needs to be spread to the whole season. If specific storage conditions are not met, citrus is a fruit that will perish quickly. Having all of the harvest take place together in the same months can mean problems for storage conditions. However, having produce that can be harvested in, for example, April-May, could increase our competitiveness on the global market. We should be realising increased production between September and May by selecting and encouraging later varieties. Thus, without losing the fruit quality, we should ensure a longer duration of product supply. Special consideration should be given to the storage depots to avoid losses for the growers, increasing the number of cold storage depots is also an unquestionable necessity.”
According to Torun, lowering producers input costs is a matter that needs to be solved; fertiliser, diesel, and similar products, and expenses such as spraying, storage, packaging, shipping should be supported and the VAT level should be decreased on these inputs.
Export database
Torun reports that Turkey’s position as an important citrus importer failed to reach the market of many countries. Torun wants to share the results of extensive research performed on external markets with all stakeholders, "Production, supply and demand, external market information such as daily, weekly and monthly prices will be the basis of an easy to use database which should be created for stakeholders in the sector,” assessed Torun.
