2021 has been a challenging year for Turkish fresh produce. Climate change was an issue, but also the fact that Turkey was not able to re-establish the cherry export protocol with China meant the season could not reach its full potential.
Climate change meant that the cherry season was cut short in Turkey, says Alanar marketing coordinator Yigit Gokyigit: “Due to climate change, it was a challenging year for Turkey, especially for some regions. The cherry season didn’t last very long compared to previous years. Even though there was good demand for Turkish cherries, the season needed to be completed earlier than any other year based on the termination of the crop.”
It was disappointing for Alanar that despite solid demand for cherries from China, the company was not able to export the produce to the Chinese market. “Alanar has a highly accomplished brand name in the Chinese market. Our company had a 52% market share of cherries exported from Turkey to China the year before. However, in 2021 the cherry export protocol between Turkey and China did not come into force. Even though there was a huge demand for Alanar cherries in the Chinese market, we were not able to provide our world-famous cherries to this market. It was very challenging of not being able to send our cherries, which are perfectly suited to the market’s demands, being both sweet and crunchy. However, we did receive ongoing demand during the entire season.”
“In 2021, we exported cherry, fig, apricot, plum and pomegranate to the leading supermarket chains in Europe, especially in Germany, also in Middle East and Pacific Asia as well. I think continuous cooperation we are building with our customers is invaluable,” Gokyigit explains. “Cherries and figs have been the major fruits of Alanar this year, as per usual. We also grow all the apricots and plums we export in our own orchards. The apricot crop volume of Alanar increases every year, since we have young and developing orchards.”
Although the entire world has been dealing with a difficult logistical situation, Alanar was able to fulfill their orders without too much trouble: “Logistic challenges in 2021 did not affect us deeply. We have a very experienced logistics team who were able to manage the difficult situation very well. During the winter, Alanar has been exporting pomegranates, which were highly appreciated due to its high quality and rich red colour. We will keep preparing orders of our business partners in the first weeks of the year 2022.” Gokyigit concludes.
