At present, tomatoes, citrus fruits and pomegranates are predominantly imported from Turkey. "We switched from Satsumas to W.Murcott shortly before the turn of the year. Overall, there was a seamless transition and sufficient volumes have been consistently available. The quality of the citrus imports so far has also been quite good," says Ziya Sizgin, importer and managing director of Uvafruit Handels Ltd, based at the Vienna wholesale market in Inzersdorf.
He also points out the price differences between Turkish W.Murcott mandarins and goods from other countries of origin. The goods from Turkey are about 20 to 25 percent cheaper than Spanish ones and about 15 percent cheaper than Greek products. Sizgin: "We expect to be able to offer the W.Murcott variety until the end of February. However, it should be mentioned that it is currently quite wintry in Turkey. That means, there is no snowfall, but a lot of rain."
Another highlight during the cold season are Turkish pomegranates. In addition to the proven conventional fruits, Uvafruit also imports and sells organic pomegranates. "We ended the organic campaign shortly before the turn of the year with good sales results. Despite inflation, there has been no significant purchase restraint with our organic pomegranates. On the contrary: We have been able to increase the sales quantities compared to the previous year. But it should also be said that we have only minimally increased the prices, i.e., by 5-6 percent."
Meanwhile, the marketing of conventional pomegranates of Turkish origin continues at full speed, Sizgin continues. "The demand is still high and stable. It is not just the slightly cheaper pallet price - compared to Spain - that helps us, but also the unique taste and the associated importance of the Turkish pomegranate. We hope to be able to offer the conventional goods for about another month, but this also depends to some extent on the start of the Peruvian season."
Turkish tomatoes in high demand
In addition, tons of Turkish tomatoes are currently being traded. "Only a few Dutch and Belgian greenhouse tomatoes are still being traded and the Spanish goods are considerably more expensive, especially for vine tomatoes," Sizgin explains. The earthquake in Eastern Turkey in February 2023 only minimally affected agricultural exports. "The natural disaster had devastating consequences for society. Many people lost their homes, which meant that fewer harvest helpers were available to the horticultural businesses. However, this did not noticeably affect the export quantities and we hope that this will not be the case in the near future."
For more information:
Ziya Sizgin
Uvafruit Handels GmbH
Vienna-Inzersdorf Wholesale Market
Box C 12, 139-140
1230 Vienna
Tel.: +43 1 / 615 07 47
Mobile: +43 6769017755
[email protected]
www.uvafruit.at