Turkiye’s citrus exports in the first half of the year increased by 11% compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching $452 million 782 thousand.
According to the information compiled by the AA correspondent from the data of the Mediterranean Exporters’ Association, 793 thousand 41 tons of citrus fruits were exported in the January-June period of this year.
The export sales of $407 million 875 thousand realized by the sector in the first half of last year increased by 11% in the 6-month period of this year and became $452 million 782 thousand.
The most exported product is tangerine
The most exported product of the sector in the first half of the year was tangerines, with an income of $228 million 488 thousand with an increase of 35%.
Tangerine was followed by lemon with $153 million 468 thousand, grapefruit with $35 million 805 thousand and orange with $34 million 815 thousand.
The countries to which Turkiye sent the most citrus fruits in this period were Russia with $181 million 470 thousand, Ukraine with $41 million 180 thousand, Poland with $32 million 210 thousand, Romania with $25 million 974 thousand and Iraq with $25 million 199 thousand.
“We don’t have any problems with quality”
Kemal Kacmaz, Deputy Chairman of the National Citrus Council, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that in the first half of this year, citrus fruits had a significant share in fresh fruit and vegetable exports.
Expressing that the sector made a significant contribution to the country’s economy in the first half of the year, Kacmaz said, “We produce citrus fruits at world standards. We do not have any problems in quality. We will not have any problems in terms of quality in the future.”
“We continue to work on new markets”
Kacmaz stated that the citrus produced in the country is appreciated in the foreign market, and said:
“We continue to work on new markets. The pandemic process has hindered this a little. With the end of this process, we accelerated our work on countries that do not have an agricultural quarantine agreement in order to increase our exports to the Far East countries. When these studies are completed, we will have sent Turkish citrus to new markets. We expect our exports to increase even more with the new economic decisions and measures taken in our country. We are now getting ready for the new season. We make yield forecasts. We are in talks with industry stakeholders, and we will take the necessary measures. At the point of increasing exports, all decisions will be taken before the season.”
Source: AA / Prepared by Irem Yildiz