Normalizing ties with Russia and removing export restrictions, confidence in and appreciation of Turkish products in European markets and new markets have enabled Turkey to increase its fresh fruit and vegetables exports by about $160 million in the first four months of the year compared to the same period last year. Fresh fruit and vegetable exports to Russia increased by 125 percent from $90 million to $202 million, reaching 315,000 tons in quantity, an increase of 91 percent for the January-April period; some 70 percent ($112 million) of overall export growth ($159 million) was generated by exports to Russia. Total fresh fruit and vegetable exports surged by 25 percent in this period compared to the first four months last year, rising from $635 million to $794 million and achieving 1.5 million tons in quantity, an increase of 17 percent.

Uludağ Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Exporters Association (UYMSİB) Vice Chairman Senih Yazgan said this year's exports of fruit and vegetables are showing an appreciable increase.

Comparing the first four months of this year to the same period last year, Yazgan said the export figure, which was around $635 million last year, has approached $800 million this year, a surplus of about $160 million.

Yazgan said there is also an increase of up to 40 percent in UYMSİB exports, exceeding $25 million. "This is extremely pleasing for our country. Exporters learned a great lesson from the problem with Russia. In this sense, they directed themselves to new markets," Yazgan added, pointing to the surplus value brought by these new markets and the resolution of problems with Russia. "The appreciation of Turkish products continues in European markets as well. European markets, the Russian market and new markets have had a significant impact on this increase."

Yazgan pointed out that Scandinavian countries have not been seen as a market in Europe to date. "Now we are starting to ship products to Scandinavian countries. Some Turkish products that have not been shipped to European markets, such as pears, have begun to find their place in European markets. As such, there have been some increases in our exports. We expect this increase in exports to continue throughout the year," Yazgan noted.