Kemal Kacmaz, the President of the National Citrus Council, reminded that the 2020-2021 export season for citrus started in September. Emphasizing that the exports in the first 2 months of the new season are promising, Kacmaz said:
‘’We exported 286 thousand tons of citrus fruits in September-October. The increase was 23.6 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. In return, we provided $153 million of foreign currency inflow to our country.’’
Kacmaz stated that lemon is the most exported in terms of products, followed by grapefruit and tangerine. Noting that the export in 2 months of the new season made the sector representatives happy, Kacmaz said:
‘’Citrus exports will continue to increase in November, December and January. We are not experiencing problems at the moment. Hopefully, we will realize our exports as expected. The increase in two months made our industry happy. Apart from our traditional markets, our exports to European countries continue to increase. This is the development that makes us happy. I believe we will have a good season if there is no natural disaster. Citrus fruit grown in Turkey is preferred due to it’s quality.’’
‘’We expect to be rewarded for our efforts.’’
Ahmet Dursun Sahin, President of Mersin Citrus Producers Association, stated that they expect further increase in exports in the coming months and said:
‘’The weather must cool a little more. This is an important factor in citrus consumption. We expect to be rewarded for our efforts.’’
Hasan Bulduk, the owner of an exporter firm, explaining that their foreign sales activities are continuing well, said:
‘’We believe that exports will increase in the coming months.’’
source: AA / translated by Melisa Karayusufoglu