İsmail Yılmaz, Chair of the Central Anatolia Ornamental Plants and Products Exporters’ Association, stated that the loans and supports provided demonstrate that the agricultural sector is being neglected.

Yılmaz underlined that while cut flower production costs are rising, export figures are declining. “Last year, we exported 481 million stems of flowers, but this year, we’ve only sent 451 million stems, a 3 percent decrease,” he said.
“We need larger areas”
Addressing the problems in the cut flower sector, İsmail Yılmaz explained, “Our costs are steadily increasing, but our sales prices are not at the desired level. We’ve lost our profitability in cut flowers.”
Noting their difficulty finding employees, Yılmaz said, “One of our biggest problems is labour. It’s difficult to attract young people to this sector.”
Yılmaz also emphasized the importance of the organized agricultural zone for the floristry sector, saying, “We need larger areas. There’s a marketing problem in the sector. We can’t expand into different markets. Financing is a major problem in production. Everyone who comes across them is marketing flowers at ridiculous prices.”
THE GLOBAL WINDOW OF TURKISH FOOD AND AGRICULTURE The Global Window of Turkish Food and Agriculture Sector
