Kalyoncu Group is a Turkish firm devoted to the production and export of its own fruits and vegetables. It has its own logistics company and has traditionally delivered its shipments mostly to Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian destinations, primarily retailers. “Our products are both seasonal, with open fields in the area of Anatolia, and greenhouse-grown in the area of Mersin. We use both ships and trucks for transportation, although we work mainly with containers,” explains Export Manager Midina Ozcoskun.
She states, however, that after the introduction of the Russian sanctions on Turkey, which affect many (but not all) products, the company’s strategy has had to be rethought. “We aim to expand to European cities and countries to be able to supply them during their off-seasons, so that is why we are attending many conventions and fairs, like Fruit Logistica. We are also looking at finding
opportunities in Asian markets.”
One of the company’s advantages to achieve this is the fact that it is in charge of its own packaging and transport, which helps in reducing costs. “We are working with the Turkish government to guarantee European standards, as certifications such as ISO and GlobalGAP are necessary to be able to work with European countries.” She assures that efforts have also gone into improving packaging, with Italian technology that has allowed them to increase the daily production of plastic packages from 4,000 to 8,000.
Product quality can indeed prove to be a determining factor, for example, in Turkey’s competition with Egypt in the citrus sector. “Egyptian citrus is cheaper, but the markets appreciate the longer shelf life of Turkish citrus fruits, which also allows us to keep them in storage for up to three months,” she concludes. In any case, she also hopes the situation with Russia will be resolved soon for the benefit of all parties.
