In Kumluca in Turkey’s Antalya region, growers are still finding buyers for their California peppers in Russia, in spite of the restrictions in place. Growers say that California pepper exports to Russia have continued without a break and the peppers are being sold for €1.30 a kilo.
Antalya is Turkey’s most important greenhouse production region, but the industry there has been suffering recently due to the unusually cold weather. The sanctions introduced by Russia have also meant the loss of their biggest market, as some fruit and vegetable items cannot be sent to the country. Out of these items, tomatoes are the most important as they form the basis of exports to Russia. Some of the tomatoes are being sent to Iraq and Saudi Arabia and some are being redistributed to the domestic market.
Western Mediterranean Exporters Union Board Member and fresh fruit and vegetable exporter, Erdogan Ekinci reports that as long as the tomato price stays between 30-45 Euro cents, they will continue to be sent to Iraq and Saudi Arabia, “We are exporting to Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova. We are diversifying our markets. We aim to overcome the crisis. I am sure that we will not see extreme losses. We are continuing our exports to countries outside of Russia," he said.
Russians still buy California pepper
According to one exporter there are several products that Russia is continuing to import, “Right now we are working on California peppers. They are going to Russia. Russians serve these peppers with salad in the morning. They have a long shelf life and we are comfortably continuing to export them to the country.”
