Turkey's vegetable production volumes are reaching great levels when compared to those of Spain. According to relative data on greenhouse and open ground crops provided by the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), this is being achieved with a greater number of hectares from which a lower yield is obtained.
Comparing the data on Spain and Turkey's production volumes for the years 2001 and 2011 (greenhouse and open ground), it can be seen that Turkey almost trebled Spain's tomato production in 2011, as the Euro-Asian country produced 11,003,433 tonnes, compared to the 3,864,120 grown by Spain.
Regarding the number of hectares devoted to the cultivation of this vegetable, the difference is even greater. In 2011, Turkey devoted a total of 328,000 hectares, compared to Spain's 51,204.
The data on yields are much more favourable for Spain, as Spanish growers obtained 7.55 kilos of tomatoes per square metre in 2011, compared to the 3.35 reached by Turkey.
The second most important product in terms of volumes, of the eight under analysis, are watermelons, of which Turkey produced a total of 3.86 million tonnes in 2011, compared to the 0.77 million tonnes produced by Spain that same year. The yield per square metre was 2.65 kilos for the Turkish production and of 4.31 for Spain's. Turkey devoted a total of 146,018 hectares for the production of this summer fruit in 2011, while Spain devoted 17,783 hectares.
Regarding the production of peppers, Turkey's plantations reached a total of 93,826 hectares in 2011, with a production of 1.97 million tonnes and a yield of 2.10 kilos per square metre.
As for the Turkish cucumber production in 2011, according to FAO it was of 1.75 million tonnes, obtained from 62,746 hectares with a yield per square metre of 2.79 kilos.
The Turkish production of melons is also noteworthy, with a total of 1.65 million tonnes, a yield of 1.97 kilos per square metre and a total of 83,704 hectares planted.
Source: hortoinfo.es