We should make more use of the railway in the export of fresh fruits and vegetables

Mediterranean Exporters' Associations (AKİB) Coordinator Chairman and Mediterranean Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Exporters' Association Chairman of the Board Nejdat Sin said that in order to achieve the targets for increasing market diversity, the railway infrastructure should be strengthened in Çukurova provinces, which realize approximately 45 percent of Turkey's fresh fruit and vegetable exports. Chairman Nejdat Sin said, “We need to use the railway more effectively in the process where freight costs increase exponentially. We need to turn the Iron Silk Road starting from China to London into an opportunity. We must add air-conditioned terminals to our rail network. When we achieve this, we will be able to export fresh fruits and vegetables to China, Turkic Republics and South Asian markets from our target markets, especially Europe, with refrigerated containers at more affordable costs and quickly.” said.

'We must conclude agricultural quarantine agreements with distant countries'

“Due to the disruptions in the global supply chain during the pandemic process, there were price increases of up to 10 times in freight prices. A stabilization is not foreseen in freight prices worldwide before 2023. In the emerging market conditions, railway stands out as the most advantageous option in alternative transportation so that we can diversify our export markets. However, there is a need for air-conditioned terminals in Mersin, Adana and Hatay provinces so that we can benefit more from the railway in our fresh fruit and vegetable exports. We expect the interest and support of our government in this matter.” Speaking, President SIN requested that the diplomatic traffic be accelerated in order to increase the range of exports of the Ministry of Commerce and to implement agricultural quarantine agreements immediately within the scope of the Far Countries Strategy for countries that are geographically distant to Turkey and have high export potential. He stated that China, the Far East, South Korea and the USA are the target markets of the sector.

'In October, our sector exports increased by 11 percent to $292,3 million'

Evaluating Turkey's fresh fruit and vegetable exports, President Sin stated that the sector reached an export value of 11 million dollars in October with an increase of 292,3 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. President Sin stated that as the Mediterranean Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Exporters' Association, they achieved an export of 135 million dollars in the same period and they supported the sector's exports by 46 percent. Noting that as the Turkish fresh fruit and vegetable sector, they evaluate 566 thousand 766 tons of products in export markets, President Sin said, “Mandarin was the first product we exported in October, with an increase of 32 percent and a value of 57,2 million dollars. It was followed by grapes with an increase of 63 percent and a value of 55,6 million dollars, and lemons with a decrease of 27 percent and a value of 39,3 million dollars. In October, we achieved the highest increases in export volume in the exports of chestnuts, peaches, dates, figs and grapes.” said.

'Half of our fresh fruit and vegetable exports are to the Commonwealth of Independent States'

Heading the sector's exports under a magnifying glass, President Sin said: “In October, the Commonwealth of Independent States came at the top of our main markets in our fresh fruit and vegetable exports, with a share of 48 percent. European Union countries took the second place with a share of 24 percent, and the Middle East countries took the third place with a share of 17 percent. In the countries to which we export the most, Russia was the first with a 41 percent increase and a value of 108,8 million dollars, Ukraine with an increase of 34 percent and a value of 20,4 million dollars, and Iraq with a decrease of 32 percent and a value of 18,8 million dollars. The countries where we achieved the highest increases in our exports in October were Belarus, Dubai, Russia, Sweden and Ukraine.” President Sin added that the sector's exports in the January-October period increased by 18 percent and reached the level of 2 billion 306 million dollars.