THE GLOBAL WINDOW OF TURKISH FOOD AND AGRICULTURE The Global Window of Turkish Food and Agriculture Sector
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Press release…
June 2026…
Türkiye is the world leader in cherry production, with an annual output of 700,000 tonnes from an area of 1 million 400 thousand decares.
Seeking to translate its strength in cherry production into exports, the country is at a critical juncture in commencing cherry exports to the People’s Republic of China.
As part of efforts to resume cherry exports from Türkiye to China, a delegation comprising two technical experts from the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China conducted inspections in the country between 22 and 28 June 2026 at cherry orchards, packing facilities and cold treatment/fumigation facilities. The delegation observed the traceability of cherries from the orchard to the end consumer at the orchards and processing facilities.
It is expected that, based on the report to be submitted by the Chinese delegation, the Beijing authorities will grant approval for cherry imports from Türkiye.
Turkish cherries are a premium product in Europe…
Cengiz Balık, Chair of the Aegean Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Exporters’ Association, stated that due to their quality and aroma, Turkish cherries are most in demand in Germany, Russia, Austria, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and in the Middle East, particularly the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. He emphasised that the European Union market is one of the most challenging markets for exporting products due to its quality and standards and underlined that Turkish cherries are positioned as a ‘premium product’ within the EU.
Explaining that the cherry harvest, which begins in mid-April in the Şehzadeler district of Manisa province and the Kemalpaşa district of İzmir province, follows a route through Salihli, Denizli, Afyonkarahisar, Isparta, Konya, Niğde, Gaziantep and Mardin, before concluding in August in Iğdır – often described as the ‘Çukurova of the Eastern Anatolia Region’ – Balık concluded his remarks as follows: “Cherries are a highly popular and expensive imported fruit in China. Cherries symbolise wealth, prosperity and abundance. China imports approximately 600,000 tonnes of cherries annually. The market value of these imports reaches around 3.5 billion dollars. In terms of import volume, China is the world’s largest importer of cherries. In the medium term, we aim to export 100 million dollars’ worth of cherries to China annually.”
