Two brothers from the city of Yozgat imported peony seeds from the Netherlands and they are delighted about the results. Consequently, they have increased their production up to 100,000 stems annually.
The two brothers Bulent and Murat Hoke had worked for years in various greenhouses in the Netherlands and now they have managed to grow peonies in their hometown city of Yozgat which is located in the northern part of Turkey. They have started the production process 5 years ago and they have increased their production area every year.
Both brothers also have an additional production area in another city, Kirsehir where they also grow peonies in an area of 5.000 square meters. Their production area in Yozgat is approximately 12.000 square meters.
Grower Bulent Hoke: “ Turkey imports every year 1.8 million USD worth of peonies annually and we just showed that it can be grown in Turkey and we do not need to import this product. Our products are in high demand and a lot of florists from Istanbul and Ankara purchase our peonies.
A lot of people were very skeptical about Yozgat’s suitability for peony production but we have proven that it can be done successfully. We are especially satisfied with the quality and efficiency and our goal is to increase our production volume continuously and reduce peony imports as much as possible.
Most florists are surprised about our prices which are half of the price of imported peonies from the Netherlands that’s why they sometimes have some concerns about quality and vase life but once they purchase our products, they see that our peonies are easily comparable in quality with the imported ones.
We will also increase our cold storage area this year and we will soon look for opportunities to export especially to Russian and Ukrainian markets.”
Source: AA