Mersin Commodity Exchange Chairman Abdullah Özdemir said that according to statistics, 27 percent of Turkey’s 4.3 million tonnes of fresh fruit and vegetable exports are realized in Mersin.
Özdemir said, “Our province ranks first in Turkey with this ratio. In addition, we can evaluate the potential we have in fruit and vegetables much more effectively, both as a country and as Mersin region. With the right projections, Turkey can be the fruit and vegetable centre of the world and Mersin can be the locomotive of our country in this field.
“For example, The Netherlands is not even among the top twenty countries in fruit and vegetable production. However, thanks to its ability to create high value-added products, it ranks third in fruit exports and fourth in vegetables. In this context, I am of the opinion that every step towards the future should be analyzed, from crop losses up to 50 percent to combating diseases, from production costs to support and export markets, especially an efficient production planning, by reconsidering the current policies implemented in our country,” Özdemir added.
“In this way, I believe that we can further strengthen our position and increase our competitive structure in the vegetable and fruit sub-branch in the agriculture and food sector, which will become even more strategic in the coming years,” Özdemir concluded…