Akcan, President of the Ornamental Plants Producers Sub-Association, stated that their goal in 2024 is to export $200 million and ensure that imports do not exceed $50 million, and said, “We have the potential and production capacity to do this.”
Savas Akcan, President of the Ornamental Plants Producers Sub-Association, made an evaluation to the AA correspondent about the developments in the ornamental plants sector this year and the targets for next year.
Akcan, who gave the information that the sector made approximately $126 million of exports and $40 million of imports last year, said, “This was a very good figure for us. It was pleasing for us that our exports were 3 times our imports. It looks like it will be double this year. I have a prediction that our imports will be around $60 million and our exports will be around $120 million. This is an indication that the production costs of the sector have increased and we cannot send goods for export.”
Pointing out that ornamental plants are the only field in vegetal production with a VAT of 20%, Akcan said that reducing this rate to 10% would make a great contribution to the sector. Akcan stated that they have such expectations for the sector to reach better levels, especially in foreign trade.
Pointing out that the export potential of ornamental plants is very high, Akcan stated that the decrease in labor force and production in Europe is an opportunity for the sector.
“We produce high added value products”
Stating that ornamental plants are the sector that creates the most added value in agriculture, Akcan said, “We produce products with high added value and our workers work for 12 months. Our biggest expectation is to know these and look at the sector from a different perspective.”
Emphasizing that they demand the use of non-forest areas for ornamental plant production, Akcan also noted the following regarding their goals for the next year:
“Our goal in 2024 is to export $200 million and ensure that our imports do not exceed $50 million. We have the potential and production capacity to do this. VAT reduction and provision of production areas are important elements to achieve this. In addition, long-term loans should be provided to the sector instead of short-term loans. Because our production period is on average 4 years. This is the main expectation of our industry when the economic difficulties are over.”
Stating that more than 1000 products are produced in the country, Akcan added that producers have markets in the world when they produce quality products.
Source: AA / Prepared by Irem Yildiz