TURKISH AGRI.NEWS

Citrus producers in Turkey ’s south are expecting a 10 percent increase in exports this year. Kemal Kaçmaz, president of the National Citrus Council , told Anadolu Agency that the cultivation season this year started two weeks late, but they are still hopeful about the exports since Turkey has come to a significant position in citrus production. “Last year, we exported 1.74 million tons of citrus, bringing in $732 million,” said Kaçmaz. “This year, we exported 5,800 tons of citrus in a week, worth $2.3 million. We have become an important global player in citrus. We are ranked eighth in the world in production. In exports, we are in the second place in some products and third in others. Our hope this year is to have a 10 percent increase compared to last year’s export figures. Last year, we couldn’t harvest the crops for 30 days due to heavy winter conditions. If we do not experience severe winter conditions this year, we hope to increase our existing exports to higher levels...

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and a Turkish organic farming company have signed a 16 million euro ($18 million) financing deal to help take the firm to the next level. Işık Tarım will use the loan to expand its production and reduce waste, said the EBRD yesterday. "The EBRD funds will enable the company to build a new hazelnut processing plant in Ereğli, in the Black Sea region of Turkey, and finance the expansion of freeze-dried fruit production at its Afyon plant in central Anatolia," the statement said. It will also allow the company to improve its land management, introduce energy and resource-saving technologies, as well as reduce and recover waste, reconfirming its commitment to sustainability. "The EBRD never stopped investing in Turkey even during difficult times, because there are always good projects you can find in Turkey, and Işık Organic is one of those," Arvid Tuerkner, the EBRD managing director for Turkey, told Anadolu...

The third edition of the Adana Delight Festival is getting ready to welcome gourmet food lovers and those who want to taste the most delicious food in Anatolia under its theme of a "Grand Mediterranean Feast" from Oct. 4-6. Organized under the auspices of Ministry of Culture and Tourism and hosted by Adana Governorate, the 3rd Adana Delight Festival was introduced to the public with a press meeting, overseen by Adana Gov. Mahmut Demirtaş and Adana Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Zeydan Karalar, on Sept. 17 in Istanbul. Sharing the details of the upcoming festival, Demirtaş said they will introduce Adana's famed cuisine and culinary arts to the world via the festival. He said that Adana has a deep-rooted culinary history and this festival is a way to open Adana cuisine to the world. The festival, which will be enriched with gastronomic shows by international chefs along with authentic, national chefs, will offer an opportunity to eat the delicious tastes of Adana. Thro...

Press release... You can't get enough coffee with Tchibo... Istanbul Coffee Festival starts.. Tchibo will bring true coffee flavour to coffee enthusiasts at the 6th Istanbul Coffee Festival this year. At the festival which will be held in Küçükçiftlik Park between 19-22 September, Tchibo will bring together the most popular coffees and Coffee Love Collection of Davidoff, the brand of those who like to drink coffee in premium taste. There will also be a "Filter Coffee Brewing Techniques with Davidoff Café" workshop. Selecting the best coffee varieties from the land of their homeland on time and attentively, Tchibo brings coffee lovers together with real coffee flavour and will host coffee lovers at the concept booth at Istanbul Coffee Festival. Tchibo offers the opportunity to experience the selection of Davidoff Café produced with the highest quality Arabica coffee beans carefully selected from East Africa and Latin America at the festival which will be held on ...

"Izmir will be the capital of rural development" Speaking at the Bergama Kozak Plateau Festival, which is organized for the second time this year in order to bring Kozak Plateau to tourism, İzmir Metropolitan Mayor Tunç Soyer said that they aimed to make İzmir the capital of rural development. İzmir Metropolitan Municipality, which carries out important works for development of Bakırçay Basin and opening of Kozak Plateau to nature and plateau tourism, organized Kozak Plateau Festival with Bergama Municipality. In Kozak Kermes Area, 110 producers both introduced their local products and generated revenue from sales. Tomatoes, grapes and pine nuts grown in Kozak Plateau, as well as honey, jam and pine nuts desserts were offered great interest. In his opening speech, the Mayor of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Tunç Soyer said that his basic visions are to increase the potential of the region with the correct, functional and nature-friendly policies towards agriculture...

Lavender production was tested for the first time in Gümüşhane province and a 100 percent success was achieved. Farmers will earn 5 thousand liras every year for 30 years from a 1 decare lavender garden. Gümüşhane, the only city whose name of a valuable mineral in Turkey, sending fruits to Ottoman palaces, the gene center of Rosehip fruit, studies gained speed in order to increase the range of products in vegetable production. Walnut action plan and the source of gluten-free flour with a variety of herbal products starting with wheat this time, the most valuable medicinal and aromatic plants of the lavender plant trial planting was carried out and a 100 percent success was achieved. Within the scope of the "Assessment of idle agricultural lands and modernization of crop production" project implemented by the Gümüşhane Agriculture and Forestry Directorate with the support of DOKAP (Eastern Black Sea Development Project) last year, approximately 100 thousand lavender se...

Ankara University Report: No trans fat in margarines! The absence of trans fat in margarine produced in Turkey has been scientifically proven once again. The Turkish margarine industry, under the leadership of Culinary Products and Margarine Industrialists Association (MÜMSAD) signed a success story that would set an example for the world 12 years ago. The trans-fat level in the margarines collected randomly from the market, analyzed at the Food Engineering Laboratory of the Faculty of Engineering at Ankara University, was below the 1 percent limit (0.18-0.76 percent), which was scientifically considered to be null. Ebru Akdağ, the General Coordinator of MÜMSAD, said that “There is no trans fat” logo has been registered with MÜMSAD since 2008 and that the margarine products of MÜMSAD member companies that have been on shelves since 2007 are trans-fat free. MÜMSAD, which set an example to the world with the voluntary application it started 12 years ago on the elimination of ...

“INDUSTRIALISTS OF SEEDS ARE WAITING FOR SUPPORT” Chairman of Turkey Sub-Union of Seed Industrialists and Producers (TSÜAB) Dr. Ahmet Yılmaz stated that Certified Seed Use Support, Certified Seed Production Support and R & D Supports should be continued in order to contribute to the increasing development rate of the seed sector. We are in manufacturing business but not supported... Dr. Ahmet Yılmaz mentioned the problem that seed business is not considered as an industrial enterprise and said: “TSÜAB member companies are not considered as Industrial Enterprises within the scope of Law No. 6948 and Industrial Registration Certificate is not given to them if they apply. However seed production is a gradual process consisting of several consecutive activities. The main lines of this process; development of new plant varieties (breeding), cultivation of raw (unprocessed) seeds on contracted farmer fields, cleaning, dyeing, spraying and / or coating, packaging, storage and dis...

Food and agriculture sector of Akhisar stamped in WorldFood Istanbul... Akhisar, a district of Manisa province, marked the 27th International Food Products and Technologies Fair (WorldFood), the meeting point of the world food industry. 12 companies from Akhisar took part in the exhibition where more than a thousand brands participated, aiming to create a business volume of 500 million euros. The stand of 12 companies producing olives, olive oil and tomato paste welcomed thousands of visitors for 4 days. Akhisar left its mark on the WorldFood Fair 2019, which hosted 16 thousand 85 visitors from 133 countries last year. Akhisar Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Akhisar Commodity Exchange participated in the event with 12 Akhisar brands. Akhisar businessmen did not leave their district's brands alone. Many manufacturers of Akhisar came to the fair and supported their companies. Akhisar brands, especially producing olives, olive oil and tomato paste, welcomed visitors...

VIP interest in Egeli fresh fruit and vegetable exporters in Northern Macedonia... Prepared to become a NATO member in December as the gateway to Europe in the Balkans, which aims to start full membership negotiations with the European Union in October, Northern Macedonia has set its sights on attracting foreign investors to the country. The Macedonians hosted the Chairman of Aegean Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Exporters' Association Hayrettin Uçak and Board members in the form of VIP delegation in Skopje. Hayrettin Uçak and Board members who went to Northern Macedonia with the invitation of Zoran Zaev, the Prime Minister of Northern Macedonia also came together with Minister of Foreign Investments Zorica Apostolska, Elvin Hasan, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Trajan Dimkovski met with Branko Azeski, President of the Economic Chamber of Northern Macedonia, and Boris Georgievski, Mayor of Gazi Baba. While the delegation of Aegean Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Exporters...

Turkey 's total number of farm animals reached over 68 million as of June this year, the country's statistical authority reported on Sept. 12. Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT) said the figure recorded a 5.15 percent rise on a yearly basis. The number of bovine animals -- including cattle and buffalo -- amounted to 18.2 million heads while the number of ovine animals -- goats and sheep -- totaled some 49.8 million. "The number of sheep came at 38.4 million heads," the institute said. "The total number of goats came at 11.3 million heads." Official data also showed that there were around 270,000 donkeys, horses, mules, camels, and pigs in Turkey as of June this year.

A protocol signed between Turkey and China on the trade of aquaculture products has opened the doors for the export of Turkish fish to the Chinese market, worth 250 million dollars, Ankara's Envoy to Beijing Abdülkadir Emin Önen told Anadolu Agency (AA) yesterday. The protocol targeting the exports of fish, such as rainbow trout, river trout, tuna and bluefin tuna, from Turkey to China was signed between the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Turkey in Ankara on Sept. 9. China's Embassy in Ankara issued a statement on the protocol on its Twitter account, saying: "The protocol is valid for five years from the date of the last signing by both parties." Recalling that Turkey's exports of these products amounted to 80 million dollars and China's imports stood at 250 million dollars last year, Önen said the protocol has opened the doors of a potential market worth 250 million do...