THE GLOBAL WINDOW OF TURKISH FOOD AND AGRICULTURE The Global Window of Turkish Food and Agriculture Sector
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Press release…
CHP (Republican People’s Party) İzmir Deputy Prof. Dr. Kamil Okyay Sındır brought the troubles experienced by the cherry sector and producers to the agenda of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM).
Sındır, who submitted a research proposal to the Assembly Presidency to develop long-term and sustainable strategies in the cherry sector.
Sındır asked the Minister of Trade Ruhsar Pekcan about the problems that exporters might experience during the epidemic period and the measures to be taken to reduce the costs of exporters.
Sındır also asked the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Bekir Pakdemirli regarding the measures taken to enable producers to market their products more comfortably and to ensure continuity in production.
Long-term and sustainable strategies required…
Pointing out that the first region where northern hemisphere cherries grown is Turkey, Sındır said, “Besides Turkey, with more than 800 thousand tons of cherry production ranks first in the world. But in terms of global cherry trade, although we are geopolitically advantageous, we rank third after Chile and the USA.”
Reminding that Chile, which ranks first in exports, produces only a quarter of Turkey’s cherry production, Sındır added, “Chile generates nearly 1 billion dollars of revenue from exports. This figure is more than 6 times the income of our country from cherry exports. With correct policies, we can be the world leader in the cherry market. Having a voice in world fresh fruit and vegetable trade is possible by developing long-term and sustainable strategies.”
Our call for all political parties…
Sındır, who warned that there would be many problems in the upcoming cherry harvest season due to the pandemic in the world, noted, “Not surprising that our farmers are afraid of not to be able to sell their products to domestic market and exporters. We expect the support of all political parties to our research proposal to determine real solutions in this framework.”
Farmers weighed down because of high input prices…
Underlining that it is one of the basic duties of the state to prevent the increase in costs due to reasons such as the arrival of seasonal agricultural workers during the harvest period and their insufficient number, shelter problems, risk of disease transmission in accommodation areas, protection of social distance during harvest, need for masks and disinfectants, Sındır concluded, “It is possible to protect our growing cherry production in the last 10 years and to increase our export figures only by taking precautions for possible problems. To ensure continuity in production, high prices of inputs such as pesticides, fertilizer, diesel oil and electricity weigh our farmers down. The cherry sector should be freed from a production understanding that has been buckled under the merchants. Steps should be taken to support the cooperative system and cooperatives and also strengthen the producer in an organized formation.”
