Blueberry acreage in Turkey has rapidly increased over recent years, says Halil Oymak of Fall Creek. Growing the soft fruit gained popularity due to the solid returns it provided: “Blueberry cultivation is a very new industry for Turkey. The acreage for blueberries has doubled yearly over the past few years. The better return of blueberries compared to other products, as well as investment subsidies, encouraged the rapid increase in production. According to the data of the Turkish statistical institute, the total planted area in 2019 was 100 hectares, 2020 we had 200 hectares, in 2021 the number doubles to 400 hectares and finally in 2022 there was 660 hectares of plantings.”
As the Turkish country is so large, it allows the blueberries to be harvested over a much longer period, Oymak explains. “Turkey is already an agricultural country. Because of its location and climate, its production pattern is a very wide country. Thanks to its location and the effect of the seas, the Mediterranean, Aegean and Black Sea, the harvest season starts with southern varieties in the south of the country during the winter and harvest continues with northern varieties in the north of the country until September.”
Oymak states that growers were very happy to pick up blueberry cultivation, as prices were really good and thus profits were solid. However, prices have dipped since, during periods of high production: “Turkey is a large country with a population of 80 million. Consumption in general is quite high. Currently, most of the blueberry production is consumed in the domestic market. Of course, market prices were quite high in the first periods and made the producers happy. However, in recent years, due to the poor management of both packaging and marketing, prices have come down a little during periods of increased production.”
With the rapid production growth in mind, Oymak feels that Turkey will become a major player in the blueberry industry: “The biggest export market of Turkey's fresh fruit and vegetable production is Russia. However, blueberry is a valuable product, it can be sent to many destinations by air cargo. Especially in recent years, the Far Eastern market has been developed for Turkish produce. I think that Turkey will become a major producer and exporter in the blueberry sector in the coming years. The country's geopolitical position, climate and agricultural worker population will support the rapid development of this industry. As Fall Creek, we will continue to support production and producers with new genetics.”
For more information:
Halil Oymak
Fall Creek EMEnA
Tel: +90 5461591234
Email: [email protected]
www.fallcreeknursery.com