A move by Russia to ban Turkish imports on pesticide-residue grounds from June 7 could have serious implications for the upcoming grape season. So far there are five banned products on the Russian hit list - tomatoes, aubergines, potatoes, grapes and lemons. The tomato season is almost complete, and potatoes and aubergines are exported only in very limited quantities. But the grape harvest is due to begin in August. “This could be a really big problem,” said Hakan Koleoglu of Turkish exporter Antalya Natura. “Tomato prices have already halved on the news and even products such as capsicum and cucumber that are not on the list have seen their prices fall.”

Koleoglu said he was hopeful negotiations at the highest level between Turkish and Russian governments would solve the problem. “Our prime minister will be negotiating and I hope that in the next month this can be solved,” said Koleoglu.

Turkey grows a lot of Sultana Seedless grape, a large volume of which is exported to Russia and should that market fail, then there could be great difficulty for many exporters who generally either specialize in exporting to Russia or to western Europe.

A meeting held in Mersin yesterday by Turkish companies concluded the country needed to broaden its horizons and look to other export markets apart from Russia.

It was also agreed that Turkish exporters need to promote their organic range of products more, explore the Middle East and Asian markets, promote their products more in Europe, forge closer ties with the EU and tighten up on their certification standards.

Topics