THE GLOBAL WINDOW OF TURKISH FOOD AND AGRICULTURE The Global Window of Turkish Food and Agriculture Sector
Related Articles
Eyyüp Ergan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Trabzon Commodity Exchange, stated that hazelnut has become the biggest foreign currency earning product of Türkiye’s agriculture and emphasised that the potential in hazelnut exports is much higher. “We are in a position to earn 4-5 billion dollars in foreign currency from hazelnut exports, not 2-2.5 billion dollars a year, therefore the current export performance is not sufficient,” Ergan said.
TÜRKİYE IS THE WORLD LEADER IN HAZELNUT PRODUCTION…
Expressing that Türkiye, which has reached a worldwide position in hazelnut production since the first years of the Republic, is number one in this field, Ergan said that the potential of the country can further increase its share in the world hazelnut trade. Drawing attention to the country’s geographical diversity, Ergan emphasised the importance of hazelnut in Turkish economy and explained, “Hazelnut, which was grown only in Ordu, Giresun and Trabzon provinces in the early days of the Republic, has spread to a wide area from Artvin to Istanbul today. 101 years ago, hazelnut was produced only in an area of 50 thousand hectares, while this area has reached 750 thousand hectares today.”
POTENTIAL PRODUCTION TARGET: 1.5 MILLION TONNES OF HAZELNUT…
Ergan also drew attention to the need to enhance productivity in existing hazelnut gardens. Pointing out that an average of 700 thousand tonnes of hazelnuts are produced annually in their 750 thousand hectares of production area, Ergan added, “1 million 500 thousand tonnes of hazelnuts can be produced by making this capacity more efficient. We have been working for about 25 years to raise productivity and quality in the hazelnut sector, if these steps continue, the export income can be doubled.”
QUARTER-CENTURY STUDIES FOR PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY…
Indicating that they will continue the long-term studies initiated in line with the targets of increasing yield and quality, Ergan concluded, “We need to increase productivity in agricultural activities in order to ramp up the economic value of hazelnuts more and to provide 4-5 billion dollars of foreign currency income. We are determinedly continuing these activities that we started a quarter of a century ago. We will continue to work together with all stakeholders to strengthen Türkiye’s position in the hazelnut sector.”
