THE GLOBAL WINDOW OF TURKISH FOOD AND AGRICULTURE The Global Window of Turkish Food and Agriculture Sector
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In geothermal greenhouses where clean energy is used with soilless agriculture, energy savings of up to 60 per cent are achieved compared to other energy sources. While tomatoes are mainly grown in fully automated technological geothermal greenhouses in Türkiye’s Aegean province of Manisa, bananas can also be grown alongside tomatoes. Production in the period when there is no product in the field provides significant returns especially in exports. Tomatoes grown in greenhouses are exported to European countries at around 2 euro. Tomatoes are exported from Manisa to the Netherlands, which is known for its development in the field of greenhouse cultivation.
“WE HAVE A VERY EFFICIENT PRODUCTION DUE TO LOW HEAT COST”
Stating that they have an efficient production with renewable energy costs, greenhouse business manager Erdem Çelik said, “We produce tomatoes in this facility. One of the sine qua non of tomato production is temperature. Temperature is important for tomatoes. We provide this temperature with geothermal. This of course contributes to the production economy. We have a very efficient production due to its renewable and low heat cost. We have a 60 per cent more efficient rate than electric heating. Over time, we thought about what we could produce as an alternative to tomatoes. Accordingly, we produced bananas in a certain area.”
“Since the developing conjuncture and banana production is more intense in Mediterranean cities, we plan to turn it into tomato in the future. Tomato production has been very productive in the last 3-4 years due to the increase in demand from Türkiye with the onset of the energy crisis in Europe. We also aim to increase tomato production areas,” Çelik explained.
Pointing out that they are in an advantageous position because they can produce summer fruits and vegetables in winter, Çelik added, “One advantage of being a geothermal greenhouse is that we are in a more advantageous position periodically. We plant our seedlings in about August. During the winter months, we produce tomatoes in the period when there is no production in the field outside. We produce products from November to July. 95 per cent of the products produced in this facility are exported. There are chain markets abroad that we have an agreement with. We supply them. We ship our products to many points in Europe. The investment cost of geothermal greenhouse cultivation is high and the operation is an important investment. However, we are currently selling around 1.8 – 2 Euro per kilogram”.
