Their first apple export season in 2021 had its challenges, but Turkish produce exporter Ani Tarim is very confident about the current Turkish apple season, says Mehmet Çakmak, sales and marketing manager for the exporter.
“Our ongoing apple and pomegranate export programmes make us quite happy, so far both seasons have been on a good level. In the first year of our apple export, which was the 2021-2022 season, there were some challenges we faced and had to cope with, such as difficulty of working with small-scale growers, a narrow customer portfolio and irregular shipping programs. Thankfully, those challenges helped us to plan better in our second season, from the blossom period to harvest period, by communicating with our growers more closely, reaching new customers and markets and organizing the loadings with shipping lines in a coordinated fashion.”
“Our usual apple programme runs between August and May. During this period, we pack Gala, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith and Rosy Glow varieties for our clients in different packages. India, Malaysia, and Russia are the main markets our company mostly supplies,” Çakmak explains. “Turkey produced 4,493,264 metric tons of apples in 2021, and 354,560 tons of that volume was packed by Turkish suppliers for export. The apple export mainly went to India, Russia and Syria, generating 178,718,000 USD export value in total. As Turkey’s total apple production in 2022 grew to 4,817,500 tons, I assume export figures will not be lower than the previous year’s records.”
One of the other staple products that Ani Tarim deals with is the pomegranate. According to Çakmak there has been very strong demand for the fruit this season: “Next to our apple season, we’re also very satisfied with our pomegranate season. There has been high demand from the European markets ever since the season started. The most demanding markets were Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. We will have packed about 4,000 tons in total by mid-February.”
When looking at the total production of pomegranates in Turkey, there has been a slight increase when compared to the 2021 volumes, Çakmak says. “Hejaz is the most produced and consumed pomegranate variety in Turkey. It’s usually available from October to March, which gives Turkish exporters an availability advantage over other producing countries in the northern hemisphere, who mostly run out their stocks by that time. Turkey produced 647,676 tons of pomegranate and exported 177,695 tons of this volume with an export value of 131,980,000 USD in 2021. Total production volume of 2022 season became 681,460 tons. Russia, Iraq and Germany are the top three markets where Turkish pomegranates are mostly consumed.”
Ani Tarim will exhibit during Fruit Logistica in February. You can find their stand in Hall B, stand C-10.
For more information:
Mehmet Çakmak
Anı Tarım Fresh Fruit Ltd.Co.
Tel: +90 539 850 30 32
Email: [email protected]
www.anitarim.com.tr