TURKISH AGRI.NEWS

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 flower producers have exported 60 million roses to 50 countries – including the Netherlands, the U.K., Germany and Ukraine – ahead of Valentine's Day on Feb. 14. The shipping of roses began 20 days ago, İsmail Yılmaz, the head of the Central Anatolian Ornamental Plants Exporters' Association, told Anadolu Agency (AA). Last year, the rose production was lower than that in the current year due to cold weather conditions, Yılmaz said, adding that the country exported 6 million more roses this year, compared with the previous year. Noting that rose exports amounted to $6.5 million so far, he said new orders will be sent via airways until Feb. 14. He said Turkey also exports other flowers, especially carnations, that make up nearly 90% of shares of the country's total flower exports.