Greenhouse Investors and Producers Association (SERA-BIR) President Halil Pekdemir said that Russia’s decision to increase tomato imports from Turkiye will positively affect exports.
After the decree approved by the Russian Ministry of Agriculture, the quota of tomatoes imported by Russia from Turkiye was increased by 150 thousand tons to 500 thousand tons annually.
In 2021, $67 million 965 thousand of tomato exports were made from Turkiye to Russia, and this figure was recorded as $33 million 629 thousand in 2022.
In the first half of this year, Turkiye exported $29 million 563 thousand worth of tomatoes to Russia.
Increasing the quota in tomato exports to 500 thousand tons by Russia was welcomed by both producers and exporters.
“A very important development for our country”
SERA-BIR President Pekdemir told Anadolu Agency (AA) that it is pleasing that Russia has increased its tomato import quota from Turkiye from 350 thousand to 500 thousand tons.
Stating that this increase was welcomed by both producers and exporters, Pekdemir said, “Russia is one of the important markets for us. We had an export of $29 million 563 thousand to Russia in the first 6 months of 2023. Russia’s quota increase will increase Turkish greenhouse exports a little more. This quota increase is a very important development for greenhouse farmers and for our country. In the January-June period of this year, our tomato export reached $326 million 99 thousand. We were very close to all the export figures made in 2022, I believe that we will reach very good amounts in tomato export figures by the end of the year.”
Stating that the increase in Russia’s quota will also contribute to the development of the greenhouse sector, Pekdemir emphasized that the employment rate will increase as the sector continues to grow.
Stating that tomatoes produced in Turkiye with the good agricultural practice model are in demand in every market it enters, Pekdemir said, “Consumers who are used to the quality and flavor of these tomatoes, which are produced with good agricultural practices and produced in natural environments with bee systems, have an increased demand for these products. There is a great interest in cluster tomatoes both in the domestic market and in the foreign market. We believe that our export figures will reach their peak at the end of the year, with Russia increasing the quota again and the new markets in Europe.”
Ibrahim Kilic, who produces soilless agriculture in greenhouses in Sanliurfa’s Karaali region, stated that Russia’s quota increase made him happy, as all producers, and said, “We met with friends who produce greenhouses in our region after the decision, and Russia’s increase in the amount of quota was welcomed by all of us. We will provide more foreign currency inflows to our country with the sales of the products we produce here. I hope it will be beneficial for both our country and our producers.”
Source: AA / Prepared by Irem Yildiz