The Analysis of Cherry Production and Trade in Turkey: the Case of Uluborlu District
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408 Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science, 19 (No 3) 2013, 398-415 Agricultural Academy THE ANALYSIS OF CHERRY PRODUCTION AND TRADE IN TURKEY: THE CASE OF ULUBORLU DISTRICT T. BAL and F. CERCINLI Suleyman Demirel University, Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, 32260, Isparta, Turkey Abstract BAL, T. and F. CERCINLI, 2013. The analysis of cherry production and trade in Turkey: the case of Uluborlu district. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 19: 398-415 More than half of the fresh fruit and vegetable exports are citrus fruits in Turkey. West Mediterranean Region has a con- siderable share in fruit production, which is like apple, orange, banana, carob, loquat and cherry are the most prominent fruits regarding their share in Turkey’s production. Isparta province has a share of 5.2 per cent in cherry productions in Turkey and 28.8 per cent of it comes from Uluborlu District of Isparta province. In this study, marketing and foreign trade of and problems in cherry production in Uluborlu district were determined and point of view of producers in terms of cherry exportation were found out by using survey technique. According to results, cherry in Uluborlu district has a higher longevity than other variet- ies draws the attention of exporters, producers are highly dependent upon exporters. Producers do not have any other choice than personally selling their products to the exporters. 50 per cent of cherry produced in Uluborlu district is exported and the district meets 35 per cent of cherry export of Turkey. Research results suggest that extension services provided by public and private organizations are inadequate for Uluborlu’s cherry producers to access sources of knowledge. Therefore, extension studies should be conducted. Key words: Cherry, Cherry Exportation, Isparta Introduction More than half of the fresh fruit and vegetable exports are citrus fruits. Generally, the major factor determining of fruit Agricultural sector has a great importance for Turkey production is demand. This demand is local or from foreign as it meets the nutritional needs of the country, contributes countries as well as the consumption of these products in to employment, meets the raw material requirements of in- fresh or processed form changes the mode and structure of dustrial sector and has influences on foreign trade. West production. Additionally, ecological factors have a signifi- Mediterranean Region has quite convenient conditions for cant influence on the taste and aroma of the fruit type. West agricultural production, considering its geographical po- Mediterranean Region in Turkey has a considerable share in sition, fertile lands, proper climatic conditions, sufficient fruit production, which is like apple, orange, banana, carob, water resources, proximity to large markets and competi- loquat and cherry are the most prominent fruits regarding tive labour force (Anonymous, 2011). Fresh fruits and veg- their share in Turkey’s production. There is transformation etable production in Turkey also has important in the world from crop field to fruit and vegetable in Isparta province thanks to the diversity of conditions it possesses. Addition- (Yilmaz et al., 2006). Isparta province ranks at the top in ally, fresh fruit and vegetable sector has a significant share apple and cherry production and Antalya does the same in in the agricultural production of our country. It is also im- orange, banana, and carob and loquat production. portant in terms of its contribution to national income, the More than half of the fresh fruit and vegetable exports employment it creates and agricultural products exports. are citrus fruits. Approximately 70 per cent of this share E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] The Analysis of Cherry Production and Trade in Turkey: the Case of Uluborlu District 409 consists of lemon and tangerine products. Citrus export late July and early August. Thus, early or late harvesting is followed by cherry, grape, peach, apple and melon ex- is an important concept in cherry production. In order to ports. In many countries, the increase in cherry produc- increase production and enhance export figures, it is re- tion and high productivity throughout the year are ac- quired to cultivate early or late varieties. Turkey has great companied by important developments for cherry trade. advantages in terms of factors such as long harvesting pe- Maritime transport of cherry in “controlled atmosphere” riod and long sunshine duration and has a great production packages has a great influence on the increase of cherry potential. Although the use of pesticide in sweet cherry production. By this way, cherry can be exported to distant production per hectare in the Isparta province was 5.36 countries and the trade of the product increases. In addi- times higher than that of Turkey’s average, increasing the tion, the high demand even in winter months due to the environmental risk problem (Demircan et al,.2006). tendency of consumers to consume cherry in cold months unlike fruits with hard seed such as peach and nectarine in Cherry Production in the World another important factor (Anonymous, 2008). The reason for profitability of cherry production is that Among major countries producing cherry in the world, it is an exported product. Particularly, exported cherry Turkey ranks the first both in the northern hemisphere and products generate fair returns. Price of the product to be in the world with 417 thousand tons of production in 2010, exported is quite high compared to the domestic market. corresponding to 20.3 per cent of world cherry produc- Advertisement and promotion campaigns held by cherry tion. The U.S. with 284 thousand tons of production and exporters also play an important role on the high poten- 13.8 per cent share and Iran with 243 thousand tons of tial of cherry export. The most significant certificate in production and 11.8 per cent follow it. It is obvious that export is Globalgap. Hundreds of cherry varieties are cul- share of Turkey in the last five years is around 20 per cent. tivated in Turkey. However, the most exported variety is In addition, Turkey is leader country in terms of volume “Ziraat 900”, developed by Turkish agricultural engineers of cherry production in the World (Table 1). Owing to the and known as “Turkish Cherry” in the world. This vari- temperate zone it is located in and its geographical advan- ety constitutes 90 per cent of our cherry exports. Produc- tages, Turkey is a country that has appropriate conditions tion of this variety, which has high quality and is for fresh for cherry production. If figures of cherry production in consumption, is about 50-70 thousand tons. Considering Turkey by years are examined, it can be seen that there all cherry varieties cultivated in our country, the amount has been a continuous increase in production since 2004. of production may seem high. However, the amount of The increase in production in the last four years is 30 per production of exportable cherry is limited. It is essential cent. Proper weather conditions as well as the increase in to support cherry exports by increasing production with the interest of cultivators towards cherry were influential “Ziraat 0900” and other early and late cherry varieties on this increase. Although 2007 witnessed drought, pro- in the near future as well as with seedlings produced on duction was more than expected because the transition dwarf and semi-dwarf rootstocks. from spring to summer was not harsh. However, because According to literatures, one of the major reasons for quality could not be maintained along with the increase in the recent increase in foreign trade is that exporting com- production, this increase did not bring higher exports and panies has adapted the practice of making decisions on Turkey could not meet the demands of importer countries foreign currencies rather than Turkish Lira in the domestic sufficiently (Anonymous, 2008). production and pricing process, thus leading to changes in Table 2 indicates the production amounts and shares export pricing behaviour and (depending on floating ex- of major provinces of Turkey producing cherry in total change rate and implicit inflation targeting regimes) ex- production. According to production statistics for last five change rate dynamics. The increase in Turkey’s fresh fruit years, Izmir province has a share of 10.3 per cent in to- and vegetable exports between 2000 and 2005 may be tal production of Turkey amounting to 418 thousand tons, attributed to these factors (Aldemir, 2006). The most in- whereas Isparta province has an increasing trend in period tense cheery harvest in our country is in late June. Higher investigated, and share of Isparta for 2010 is 5.2 per cent. prices are paid for early cherries harvested in late May 28.8 per cent of cherry production in Isparta province is and early June because purchasers are ready to pay high- carried out in the Uluborlu district. er prices because cherry supply is low. Similarly, there is The majority of cherry production in Turkey is sold in a tendency to pay higher prices for cherries harvested in domestic market as fresh and used in the processing in- 410 T. Bal and F. Cercinli dustry. Cherry importation has been seen for only some Table 3 years and as symbolic quantities. There are fluctuations in Cherry exportation of Turkey by countries in 2009 the cherry export by years. Table 3 shows the distribution Countries Value ($) of exportation of Turkey by countries in 2009. As it seen in Germany