The current weather stability favors the preparation and flowering of the trees in the next season. "It will be a good season because everything is proceeding normally," said Omer Elçiçek, of Elçiçek Agricultural & Natural Products.
This Turkish company has been marketing cherries since 2013 and the market's demand for their product has increased year after year. "This year we expect between 600,000 and 650,000 tons; last spring we could only offer 599,650 tons," said Elçiçek.
The company only shipped 50 tons by air, but they expect to increase air shipments over time. Currently, their main destinations are Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia. The company hopes to start selling to Europe and to settle in the Chinese market.
Regarding prices, "it is still too early to know how this season will go, as we'll only start harvesting the product in May. However, we can say that the average price paid last year was $ 2.50 per kilo," said Elçiçek.
