The fruit and vegetable sector aims to contribute 4 billion dollars to the MTP export target of 302.2 billion dollars

Speaking at the opening of the fair, Aegean Exporters’ Association Coordinator Vice President and Aegean Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Exporters Association President Hayrettin Ucak shared the information that Turkey ranks third in the world after China and India with its annual fresh fruit and vegetable production of 55 million tons.

We want to contribute to the MTP target with 4 billion dollars of exports

Providing information about Turkey’s fresh fruit and vegetable export performance, President Yavaş said, “We exported 1.7 billion dollars in the January-August period of 2022. In the January-August period of 2023, our exports reached 2 billion 50 million dollars with an increase of 16 percent. “We aim to contribute 4 billion dollars as the fresh fruit and vegetable sector to the 302.2 billion dollar export target in our Medium Term Program in 2026 by increasing our residue-free and high-quality production and promoting it at fairs and with the sectoral trade delegations we organize within the scope of our URGE projects,” he said.

Underlining that residue-free and high-quality production is essential for sustainable exports to the European Union and the Russian Federation, which are the largest markets in fresh fruit and vegetable exports, Ucak continued his words as follows; “The share of our exports from our 55 million tons of fresh fruit and vegetable production is around 10 percent. There are two basic conditions to increase both this rate and our prices at the same time. The first is residue-free production. The second is quality production. As producers, exporters, universities and ministries, we need to fight together to meet these two conditions, both to protect our markets in the European Union and Russia and to create new market opportunities for our country. We distribute traps for biotechnical control instead of chemical control to our producers in both the Aegean Region and the Mediterranean region. We take samples from the gardens and have them analyzed, and we are in constant contact with our producers. “In order for us to benefit more from these fairs, we need to solve the residue problem from its roots.”

Stating that the number and quality of visitors to the Antalya Interfresh Vegetable Fruit Packaging Storage Logistics Agricultural Machinery and Technologies Fair is increasing every year, Yavaş said, “I would like to say that I am very happy and proud that our country hosts such a distinguished fair. The fair brings together all stakeholders of the fresh fruit and vegetable industry, from packaging to logistics. He concluded his words by saying, “In today’s conditions, costs other than these fruits and vegetables determine the competitive conditions for fresh fruit and vegetable exports, and in this respect, I think it is extremely beneficial for all components of the sector to come together at the same fair.”

Ozer; “We will reach an export volume of 150 million dollars”

Murat Özer, General Manager of ANTEXPO A.Ş., which organized the fair, said that while 49 companies participated in the Interfresh Eurasia Fair in 2022, 136 companies participated this year, and 415 foreign visitors, including representatives of Europe’s 3 largest chain markets, came to see Turkish fruit and vegetable products. He stated that they predict that the fair will reach an export volume of 150 million dollars.

While fresh fruit and vegetable exporters’ associations attended the Interfresh Eurasia Fair with a joint stand, the opening of the fair was attended by Antalya Governor Hulusi Şahin, Kepez District Governor Nusret Şahin, TAGEM General Manager Dr. Metin Türker, Aegean Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Exporters Association President Hayrettin Yavaş, EYMSİB Board Member Vural Güleç, Uludağ Fresh Fruit Exporters Association President Senih Yazgan, Western Mediterranean Exporters Association President Ümit Mirza Çavuşoğlu attended.