Antalya, located in southern Turkey, is responsible for the majority of Turkey’s cut flower exports and growers from Antalya have been exporting flowers to various European countries such as United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany and Russia. However the growers are looking to increase the export volumes and seeking for additional land for production.
Mid-Anatolian Ornamental Plants Exporters Association Chairman Ismail Yilmaz: “Our growers needs the government to allocate 200 hectares of land so they can grow new products and increase exports volumes. If new production areas are allocated to our growers, we estimate that exports will increase by 30 % at the very least. 70 % of Turkish ornamental plant exports are coming from Antalya currently.
In order to increase exports, production has to increase in proportion as well. We know that some treasury lands were allocated to growers in other production regions such as Yalova and Izmir. We are requesting the same for Antalya growers as well. Currently our conversations with government officials have been positive but we would like the process to be expedited if possible.
We have attended as the association to IFTF Fair in the Netherlands at the second week of November. Our products have received a lot of interest from visitors and our booth was visited by over 2,000 people. We have made contacts with potential buyers from new markets.
United Kingdom remains an important destination for us and we intend to increase our market share in the UK market which by our estimation is around 4.5 billion USD and 60 % of it is imported. We are aiming for at least a 5 % market share in the UK market for our exporters.
Additionally around 200,000 wreaths are sold to 20 countries within this month including Netherlands, Germany, United Kingdom, Denmark, Slovenia, Japan, Canada and China. The wreath companies are expecting turnover around 10 million USD this season.”
Source: Sabah