An agreement sealed between exporters and Turkish Cargo has boosted fresh fruit and vegetable exports by air, yielding $9.6 million from January to October.
According to the information compiled by the Anadolu Agency (AA) from Aegean Exporters Association, Turkey achieved $1.3 billion in fresh fruits and vegetables exports in the first 10 months of the year.
Exporters of fresh fruits and vegetables and Turkish Airlines (THY) cargo company Turkish Cargo came to an agreement in May on "special discounts and flights to new destinations" to reach consumers around the world in the quickest way possible and expand the market share of Turkish exporters.
Air cargo exports in the 10-month period increased by 42 percent compared to the same period last year, reaching 5,000 tons. A total of $9.6 million was obtained in foreign exchange from the fresh vegetables and fruits exported by air cargo.
The largest amount of exports was made to Hong Kong with $1.9 million, followed by France with $951,000 and Singapore with $947,000.
With regards to the products, mushrooms took the lead with 81 tons. Turkey obtained $2.8 million from the exports of mushrooms with air cargo transportation, followed by figs and cherries.
Rıza Seyyar, a board member of the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) and chairman of the Aegean Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Exporters Union, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that they accelerated the search for new markets after the political crises that occurred in the region in 2015.
Stressing that Turkey prefers road and sea transport, which are known as more traditional routes for exports, Seyyar said they understood the importance of air cargo during their visit to Chile within the scope of the Support for the Promotion of International Competitiveness (URGE) project.
Seyyar recalled that they agreed with Turkish Cargo after initiating projects on air cargo exports. He said they were able to easily reach new and remote markets in exports with discounts up to 75 percent and new destinations following the agreement.
He also indicated that large figures are not currently in question in the air cargo exports. He noted that the Turkish exporters can reach all metropolises easily and at affordable prices thanks to air cargo.
"The products we export with air cargo transportation attain their place in the markets the next day. We, as fresh fruit and vegetable exporters, will use air cargo more in the coming years," he said.
He said companies that especially export products with short shelf life have turned to air cargo and added that there has been a serious increase in the export of fresh fruits and vegetables to Southeast Asian countries on a regional basis.
Seyyar stressed that mushrooms lead the way among the products exported by air cargo.
"But the star of this year is fresh figs. Last year, $1.4 million worth of figs were carried last year, while this figure reached $2.2 million this year," he said.
He also pointed out that the Turkish Cargo authorities are very pleased with the developments.
"They said there is an increase in demand not just for fresh fruits and vegetables but also for other products that Turkey exports, and that this came with air cargo news and price reductions. They also stated that they are trying to further increase the capacity and destinations," he concluded.