The forecast is for an excellent Turkish blueberry season, even though the harvest could be lower than the expectations, as per Halil Oymak of Turkish blueberry exporter Fall Creek: “The Turkish blueberry season is looking very promising this year. Winter was not frigid and there was not excess rainfall in the spring. This is why the quality of the fruits is extremely good. It was only in the fall that temperatures were higher than normal. This is why an identical situation to that which happened in Peru is likely to have happened in this instance. This yield could be lower than the expectations.”

The expansion of blueberry land is slowing down, but remains very robust, Oymak explains. “Data suggests that blueberry cultivation areas have increased by 50 percent compared to the previous year. The rate was 100 percent prior to. Inflation in the country was high and the difficulty of obtaining loans has slowed the investment in the blueberry sector. This year, however, we can see that the consumption of domestic consumers has risen dramatically. Furthermore that the rate of exports increased by a third compared to the previous year.”

Blueberries are fairly new in comparison to other Turkish traditional items. But, Oymak states that word is spreading, and the demand for blueberries is rapidly growing “Suppliers and market players all over the world are shifting towards new producers and production zones every single each day. Turkey has been historically an important producer of vegetables and fruit. The products are shipped from Turkey across the globe, which includes Europe as well as Russia. This is why, when it was reported that production of blueberries was beginning an intense demands for the product began to develop. We are aware the fact that Turkish blueberries were sold into Far Eastern countries, Russia as well as European countries in the year.”

In addition, as per Oymak, Turkish produce growers believe there is a huge opportunity for cultivating blueberries. “Turkey is an extremely productive nation so the production of agricultural products is quite common. At times the farmers are looking for alternatives for the goods they’re currently producing. Blueberries are one of the fruits that are considered to be an alternative. Recently, investors and growers who’ve realized the Turkish blueberry can be sold have shown an increased interest in this product. It is likely that the market will increase rapidly over the next weeks, due to the reduction in interest rates as well as subsidies programs.”

If all goes well in the northern regions of Turkey it could turn out to be the most successful Turkish blueberry season yet: “This year, growers in the southern part of Turkey experienced a more successful season than last year. In the past, heavy rainfall led to a decrease in quality and reduced sales. This year’s weather events provided an abundance of experiences for producers. In this year’s crop, farmers in the south gave a lot of focus on their produce and got rewarded with high-quality fruits. The result was that sales were excellent. If growers from northwestern Canada can enjoy an identical season to this and we are able to say this could be the best year to date,” Oymak concludes.

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Halil Oymak

Fall Creek EMEnA

Tel: +90 5461591234

Email: [email protected]

www.fallcreeknursery.com