The fall of the Turkish lira over the past year has been a shot in the arm for many Turkish fruit exporters, whose competitive advantage took a severe hit as a result of similar drops in other nation’s currencies. Turkish cherry exporters are more grateful than most, as cherries remain one of the more expensive fruits on the market and, being on the whole an impulse purchase, are relatively more sensitive to variations in price.
“As cherries are usually considered an impulse purchase, and a rather expensive one at that, we can expect normal consumer consumption to decrease due to economic factors,” says Ozbek Ozler of exporter Ozler Tarim. “On the other hand, currency has moved in favour of Turkish exporters, which should help a little for competitive pricing. The only market where currency is still an issue is the UK, which unfortunately is still the largest market for many Turkish cherry exporters, including ourselves.”
Further optimism has been generated by vast improvements to the weather. In 2008, Turkey suffered a major crop shortage due to unfavourable climatic conditions. Heavy rainfall during the springtime pollination period caused a reduction in the number of bees, and volumes fell as a result by some 50 per cent. 2009, on the other hand, appears highly promising.
“It looks like we are going to have a very good cherry season this year due to perfect climatic conditions,” says Professor Aydin Turkec, CEO of Aydin-based producer Nilay Tarim. “The temperature has been very good and the trees received more rain during the blossoming period than last year. Exports of cherries from Turkey may well increase to around 40,000 tonnes this year.”
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