TURKISH AGRI.NEWS

The Turkish agricultural machinery made the highest export value (947 million US dollars) of all times. This industry, which has grown 14% comparing to the previous year, is the 3rd sub-segment with the highest increase in exports among Turkish machinery sector. According to the official statistics, agricultural machinery industry in Turkey now ranks the 6th among Turkey export values of 22 different sub-machinery groups e.g. machine tools, textile machinery, pumps & compressors, construction & mining machinery etc. Foreign trade data for the machinery industry in January-December period of 2019 have been announced. Accordingly, exports in the agricultural machinery sector in 2019 increased by 14% compared to 2018 and reached 947 million USD. This value is also an all-time record. However the said value does not include the export of tractor parts. With this data, the industry ranked 6th among 22 sectors in general machinery export sectors. The country ranking (top 10...

According to the Turkey Statistical Institute data, about 14 thousand tons of avocados produced in Turkey in the last 5 years. Last year, avocado production increased by 33 percent compared to the previous year and reached 4 thousand 209 tons. All of the said production was made in the Mediterranean Region. Antalya produced the most production with 3,409 tons, followed by Mersin with 699 tons, Muğla with 78 tons and Hatay with 23 tons. Most exports to Russia... In the last 5 years, approximately 2 million 79 thousand dollars have been obtained in the avocado. Last year's avocado exports increased by 116.4 percent compared to the previous year, from 546 thousand 367 dollars to 1 million 182 thousand 561 dollars. The mentioned export was recorded as 28 thousand 956 dollars in 2015. Thus, exports of avocados increased 41 times in 5 years. Avocados were exported to 33 countries last year. In this period, the most exports were made to Russia with 198 thousand 892 dollars, foll...

February 24, 2020 With a footprint that roughly spans from Indianapolis to Louisville to Cincinnati, Premier Companies was named the ARA Retailer of the Year . And its CEO, Harold Cooper, recently joined Clinton Griffiths on Agritalk Radio. Cooper shared he started in ag retail in 1981 and until 2019 he thinks that first year had been the most difficult in terms of the variables of the growing season. “We really didn’t get started until June 5, which is when prevent planting starts in this area,” he says. He shares how a year like 2019 demonstrates you “need every man or machine on deck” otherwise the jobs won’t get done in the tight time frames. To help their farmer customers be able to adjust to the wrinkles mother natures throws into every growing season, the co-operative has invested in structuring its facilities differently. “We are building efficiency and more storage of product closer to the farm,” Cooper says. “We’ve built greater speed to get that product moved out.” In their...

Turkish flower businesses are set to export flowers worth about $8 million to over 50 countries for International Women's Day on March 8, officials said Tuesday. İsmail Yılmaz, Chairman of the Central Anatolian Ornamental Plants and Products Exporters' Association, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the sector becomes very busy especially during the first quarter of the year with International Women’s Day coming just after Valentine’s Day, which also saw a high export volume of Turkish flowers. He said they made Valentine’s Day shipments most recently, sending a total of 60 million cut flowers to 50 countries, including the Netherlands, the U.K., Germany, Romania and Ukraine, and the sector is now very busy for a similar export for Women’s Day. Saying that each special occasion requires a different type and color of flower, Yılmaz also noted that each country demands different colors of flowers as the demands change depending on domestic markets. As a result, they made all types o...

Russia on Tuesday increased the quota for tomatoes imported from Turkey from 150,000 to 200,000 tons. "Approve the permitted volume of import of the product ‘Tomatoes fresh or chilled' – 200,000 tons," the Russian Agriculture Ministry said in a decree published on Russia's official web portal of legal notices. The decision comes after hundreds of trucks carrying around 5,000 tons of tomatoes from Turkey were last week reported to have been stranded for over a week in the buffer zone between Russia and Ukraine, waiting for Russia to officially increase its quota. Thousands of tons of tomatoes were left waiting at the border at risk of going to waste, causing a potential loss of up to $30 million. In February, producers started to send additional products to the Russian border after reports that Russia's agriculture ministry was set to increase the quota of Turkey's tomato import quota by 50,000 tons to 200,000 tons. Russia’s agriculture ministry in late Janua...

China ranks first in world tea production with 2.27 million tons, India comes second with 1.21 million tons and then Kenya third with 475 thousand tons, Sri Lanka fourth with 329 thousand tons.  Turkey ranks fifth with 260 thousand tons... Tea production in Turkey mostly made on the coast of Black Sea in Rize, Trabzon, Giresun and Artvin provinces. According to data of the Tea Specialized Customs in Rize, where 65 percent of the production in the region is made and identified with tea, 17 thousand 260 tons of dry tea were imported last year. With this number, Rize ranked first among the provinces ranking that imports the most tea. Meanwhile high numbers of dry tea imports, of which 47 million dollars went abroad, also worried tea producers. Nuriye Terzi, one of the producers, said, "Our tea is enough for us, why does imported tea come from foreign countries? We have very special, organic tea, this tea is more than enough for us. Why do they not drink our tea that we produ...

The new coronavirus outbreak in China may lead global buyers to find new markets, especially in sectors such as textile, garments and steel, and Turkish businesses are one alternative. The outbreak, however, also may cause a decline in the country's exports to the Far East, such as natural stones of which China is the No. 1 buyer. According to a report by Turkey's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, COVID-19 will cause a possible shrinking of China's textile and garment industry – for a country that is a huge exporter for global brands – and this may drive those brands toward Turkey, increasing the importance of cotton growing in the country. The report by the ministry's Department for Agricultural Basins, which evaluated the effects of the new outbreak on the cotton sector, stressed that China had the biggest share in the overall fiber cotton imports during 2018 and 2019 which recorded nearly 9.3 million tons worldwide. Bangladesh, Vietnam, Pakistan and Turkey had f...

Limitation on trans fat... Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Bekir Pakdemirli said that they would restrict the amount of trans fats in all vegetable and vegetable-sourced foods. "The content of trans fats in food sales and mass consumption places will not exceed 2 grams in 100 grams of total fat," Pakdemirli stated. In a written statement yesterday, Pakdemirli noted that trans fatty acids can be found in the natural structure of all animal and vegetable oils and trans fat can be formed as a result of saturation of liquid vegetable oils with hydrogen. Until the end of the year... Explaining that they are preparing regulations in order to restrict trans fats, Pakdemirli added, “With the regulation, we restrict the amount of trans fats in all vegetable and vegetable-based foods. Except for trans fat, which is naturally found in animal fats, the trans fat content in foods to be supplied to the end consumer in food sales and mass consumption areas will not exceed 2...

National Hazelnut Council (UFK) Chairman Sebahattin Arslantürk said that if TMO (Turkish Grain Board) would be included in this sector in the next period, it must definitely announce the price of the crop  before entering the harvest season. UFK Chairman Sebahattin Arslantürk, emphasizing that he found the intervention of the Turkish Grain Board positive from the producers' point of view and continued as follows: “It turned out that the free market conditions are still not exist in Turkish hazelnut industry. They are in the direction of not having market actors about whether TMO should be active or not. But it turns out that it does not happen. A regulator body is needed." "But this regulator must also have the correct response time. This was the right time for the 2019 crop. TMO announced the price of hazelnuts in July. The price it announced was a price that met the expectations. Already TMO could remain on the market for about 2 months. The market started to oper...

Fresh fruit and vegetable exports from the Aegean saw a 68 percent increase... Aegean Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Exporters' Association performed a fresh fruit and vegetable export of 24 million 270 thousand dollars in January. The Association's exports in January 2019 were 14 million 440 thousand dollars. Fresh fruits and vegetables exports from the Aegean have increased by 68 percent. Tomatoes received the lion's share of fresh fruit and vegetable exports with an amount of 11 million 97 thousand dollars, while 2 million 873 thousand of Satsuma mandarins, 1 million 474 thousand of pomegranate exports and 1 million 340 thousand dollars of lemon exports. Aegean fresh fruit and vegetable exporters sold tens of products to 52 countries, from pepper to eggplant, zucchini to onion, orange to grapefruit, apple to grapes, cucumber to apple, grapes to vine leaves...

With an estimated 30 million hectares throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia and the Americas, bamboo can provide a significant contribution to combatting climate change in the developing world, particularly in rural communities. Below, the International Bamboo and Rattan Organisation (INBAR) demonstrates five key ways that bamboo can help countries mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change: 1. Sequestering carbon Bamboo’s fast-growing and renewable stands sequester carbon in their biomass – at rates comparable, or even superior to, a number of tree species. The many durable products made from bamboo can also be potentially carbon-negative, because they act as locked-in carbon sinks in themselves and encourage the expansion and improved management of bamboo forests. A 2015 report by TU Delft, INBAR and Moso BV International found that bamboo could also be a favourable substitute for hardwoods, even FSC-certified ones, given its lower carbon footprint and lower eco-costs. S...

21.02.2020 PRESS RELEASE Zambia Agrees to Pay Hunting Fees to Rural Communities... Lusaka, Zambia - Communities in Zambia will receive the ZMK19.8 million in hunting fees that was owed to those living in hunting areas. Zambia’s Minister for Tourism and Art, Hon. Ronald Chitotela, confirmed that the Zambian Government will release these funds in statement made at the Ministry on 20 February, 2020. Six traditional chiefs, including Senior Chief Luembe, were also in attendance during this announcement. Hon. Chitotela spoke of the importance of community involvement in the conservation of wildlife, and highlighted the role that communities play in protecting animals from threats such as poaching. Senior Chief Luembe also underlined the activities of traditional leaders, who are involved in managing encroachments, poaching and fishing rights. On the topic of motivation, Chieftainess Msoro said that this move by the Government of Zambia will provide incentives for community scouts, which i...

With some reports predicting the precision agriculture market will reach $12.9 billion by 2027, there is an increasing need to develop sophisticated data-analysis solutions that can guide management decisions in real time. A new study from an interdisciplinary research group at University of Illinois offers a promising approach to efficiently and accurately process precision ag data. “We’re trying to change how people run agronomic research. Instead of establishing a small field plot, running statistics, and publishing the means, what we’re trying to do involves the farmer far more directly. We are running experiments with farmers’ machinery in their own fields. We can detect site-specific responses to different inputs. And we can see whether there’s a response in different parts of the field,” says Nicolas Martin, assistant professor in the Department of Crop Sciences at Illinois and co-author of the study. He adds, “We developed methodology using deep learning to generate yield pre...

Producers are trying to make planting decisions right now. Could cotton be a good bet for 2020? “[The markets] have rebounded some from the [low] 60 cent level,” says Ashley Arrington, founder of Agri Authority . “We’ve spent a good bit of time in the 60 to 65 cent range. We hit 70 cents but it still isn’t that exciting.” Arrington says cotton needs to be profitable and those levels aren’t exactly profitable for farmers in the South. She says producers need to make irrigation decisions sooner rather than later. That decision could be the difference between planting cotton or corn. “We don’t plant cotton until May but if [farmers] are going to rotate, we need to make more decisions,” says Arrington. She says another part of the equation is equipment costs. Arrington says farmers can’t let a big piece of equipment sit idle, especially if it’s used for planting and harvesting cotton. “[Growers] are not going to completely drop off from cotton,” says Arrington. “[However,], they will decr...

Turkey's egg exports to Kuwait and Syria rose to a record level in 2019 after Iraq's egg import ban last year compelled Turkish exporters to seek new markets after losing their largest trading partner. The country's total egg exports amounted to $215.82 million in 2019, a 38% decline compared with the previous year's figures, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) data. The drop in exports was mainly caused by an import ban by Iraq, which, prior to the ban, accounted for over 70% of Turkey's egg exports. In April, the Iraqi government gradually implemented an import ban on certain products from regional countries, including Turkey. These included eggs, poultry, meat, beverages, ice cream, table salt, noodle varieties and pasta. The 2019 data showed Iraq remained the largest export market with $96.32 million worth of eggs exported last year, but the market shrank by 66.2% from $285.43 million worth of exports in 2018. Trade Minister Ruh...

18 February, 2020 PRESS RELEASE Cuts to rural development budget unacceptable... Brussels, Belgium - The Rural Coalition and Coalition of European Agriregions deem the recently proposed cut to rural development funding to be unacceptable and call on the policy-makers to review this approach ahead of the summit on 20th February. Europe’s rural areas and rural communities face existential threats due to rural exodus and an increasing urban-rural divide and cutting this financial lifeline would make this situation even more dire. The two groups that gather organisations representing rural actors and regions in the EU highlighted this during the ‘Amplifying local voices: Addressing rural development in the CAP post 2020’ event at the Representation of the Free State of Bavaria to the EU. Hosted by MEPs Simone Schmiedtbauer (EPP, AT), Paolo De Castro (S&D, IT) and Jérémy Decerle (Renew Europe, FR), the event brought together representatives of rural local actors – farmers, forest owner...

Turkey has launched the most comprehensive indigenous seed mobilization campaign of its history, the country's agriculture and forestry minister said Thursday. "Our main goal is to ensure that our citizens get larger shares from the international market," thanks to the newly introduced campaign, Bekir Pakdemirli stressed. The seeds will be analyzed by special technology and microscopic devices, Pakdemirli said, adding: "We will develop seeds resistant to disease factors which cause product losses." Pakdemirli emphasized that some 96% of the seeds used in the country are Turkish made. Turkey exports seeds to 86 countries, he noted. Today, more than 1.1 million tons of seeds are produced in the country, Pakdemirli said, and added: "We aim to reach 1.25 million tons of seeds this year. Our target for 2023 is 2 million tons."

The eastern Anatolian province of Malatya significantly boosted the volume and value of its dried apricot exports in January. Dubbed Turkey's apricot capital, the city exported nearly 9,000 tons of dried apricots in January, generating some $25.5 million in revenue – $5.5 million more compared to the same month of last year when total export was at 7,000 tons. Turkey is known as a top producer and exporter of fresh and dried apricots. Malatya accounts for 90% of the country's apricot exports. Apricots are collected from Malatya's more than 8 million trees, out of a total of 11 million in Turkey. Some 50,000 families are said to earn a livelihood from the product in the city. Turkish apricots earned a coveted European Union geographical indication in July 2017, a registration that helps unique products to be protected, marketed and advertised. It was the third Turkish product to get this EU designation after Gaziantep baklava, a rich, sweet pastry featured in many cuisines ...

Friend, Valentine's Day only comes around once a year. But children labour in cocoa farms every day to make the chocolates in heart-shaped boxes. Before you head to the store to buy Valentine’s Day treats for your loved ones, use our Chocolate Retailer Scorecard to see which stores are tackling child labor and deforestation and which aren’t. Retailers make billions of dollars on chocolate sales, taking up to 44% of the profits while cocoa farmers earn a measly 6.6%. This is unacceptable, and the unfair division of profits must change. While child labor and deforestation remain big problems in the chocolate industry, we are seeing some positive changes, due in part to pressure from individuals, like yourself, calling for a more sustainable chocolate industry. In the past few months, we have seen numerous industry conversations about how to achieve a living income for cocoa farmers AND some of the largest chocolate companies called for legislation that would require greate...

Turkish organic products in Germany... BioFach, the world's largest organic food and natural products fair, focusing on the proliferation of ecological producers and products, has started. The fair, which was held for the 30th time this year in Nurenberg, Germany, provides people access to real food in the organic market set up by 3 thousand 208 companies from 92 countries. Turkey's exports of organic products that perform 75 percent of the Aegean Exporters' Association of the most important representatives of ecological production. All organic from A to Z... Aegean Exporters' Association Coordinator Jak Eskinazi said that they have been performing Turkey's National Participation Organization since 1998. “Participating in the fair from many countries such as China, India and North America, especially after European countries. 39 companies from Turkey will also take place. 22 of them are under the umbrella of national participation. Starting organic agr...

Feeding the 11 billion: Wageningen, the small Dutch town ending our food crisis... Describing itself as the primary knowledge-intensive agrifood ecosystem in the Netherlands, Food Valley, as it's known, promises food-related solutions "in the region and far beyond", via co-operation between companies, knowledge institutions, innovation centres, education and government. The base for these global ambitions is the quiet university town of Wageningen. This is a modest place, seemingly at odds with its reputation as a world capital of innovation in food and agriculture, where the whole chain of research is usually covered in-house – by the locality's more than 6,500 specialists and experts, from biochemical engineers to seaweed policy makers to tasting panellists who determine the deliciousness of experimental tomatoes. Wageningen, an hour's drive from Amsterdam, was nicknamed Food Valley (referencing the Gelderse Valley, where the town nestles) in the early 2000s....

How digital revolution in farming systems can boost productivity... Adopting precision farming techniques could be a paradigm shift in farmer’s perception from production to productivity and to profitability... With increasing population, urbanisation and contagious depletion of natural resources, there has to be a paradigm shift in farmer’s perception from production to productivity and to profitability. In this present scenario, the major challenge arising are shrinking land and depleting water and other related resources in agriculture. There is need for promoting farmer friendly location specific production system management technologies in a concerted manner to achieve vertical growth in horticulture production dully ensuring quality of produce and better remuneration per unit of area with judicious use of natural resources. In this endeavour, precision farming aims to have efficient utilisation of resources per unit of time and area for achieving targeted production of hortic...