THE GLOBAL WINDOW OF TURKISH FOOD AND AGRICULTURE The Global Window of Turkish Food and Agriculture Sector
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Press release…
Birol Celep, Chairperson of Aegean Dried Fruit and Products Exporters’ Association, said that despite the new season has started in sultanas (seedless raisins), of which Turkey is the world leader in production and exports and an average foreign currency income of 500 million dollars is generated every year, the fact that the yield and prices have not been announced causes great harm to the sector and our country.
Demanding the elimination of the uncertain environment in sultanas, Birol Celep said, “Turkey alone accounts for 36 percent of the world’s exports of seedless raisins. This as Turkey’s prestige crop in exports. But we are concerned as a playmaker country in world markets, we may experience loss of market and position due to uncertainty.”
Sharing the information that Turkey’s seedless raisin exports decreased from 248 thousand tonnes to 226 thousand tonnes with a decrease of 9 percent on quantity basis in the 2020-21 season and from 510 million dollars to 434 million dollars with a loss of 15 percent on amount basis, Celep explained, “TMO (Turkish Grain Board) has made a significant contribution to our producers and exports in terms of purchasing sultanas from the market, selling our crop at the value it deserves in world markets and increasing our exports in a sustainable way. However, in the upcoming period, in order not to deepen the market loss of our country, to protect our existing markets and not to adversely affect our country’s exports, the announcement of the purchasing and price policy earlier than the season starts will help the sector to see the way ahead.”
“Otherwise the sector will suffer losses due to the purchases and sales that can be made in advance because of dynamics of the sector. In this direction, the policies to be determined are of great importance in order to sustainably manage the larger yields and stocks that await us in the coming period with the planting of new vineyards and the increase in the existing vineyard areas and to reach the export target of 270 thousand tonnes,” Celep added.
“In order to put a stop to the decline in the export of sultanas, where 60 thousand producers earn their living on an area of 1 million and 100 thousand decares, the uncertainties in the sector must be eliminated,” Celep concluded…
