Turkey is a heavyweight producer of fruit and vegetables, with a wide range of lines earmarked for the UK, from fruit staples citrus and cherries to vegetables and salads. However, the country has had to overcome a number of challenges to reposition itself and put right its international reputation to boost trade.
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Alternatif Story :The numbers look good for the juice industry in Turkey, with fruit juice consumption levels increasing rapidly in recent years not only in Turkey, but worldwide. Many thanks go to the "5 A Day" campaigns in many countries prompted by calls from the World Health Organization (WHO) for governments to encourage people to consume fruit, vegetables or juice five times a day. Turkey is in a good position when it comes to the juice market as it has considerable agricultural potential in terms of the variety of raw materials to provide high quality products and a diversity of tastes, appreciated by local and foreign consumers alike. Being a leading provider of raw fruit to the world market, Turkey has been making the best of what it has to offer.
A recent increase in fruit juice exports has contributed to the Turkish economy as well. Commercial production of fruit juice in Turkey dates back to the 1960s. Since then, 35 companies have begun operating in the sector, all members of the Fruit Juice Industry Association (MEYED). Of these, 11 produce only fruit juice, 12 produce only concentrated juice/puree and the remaining 12 produce both fruit juice and concentrated juice/puree. Rising profit margins have also led to new actors entering the market. Factories are generally located in the Mediterranean, Marmara and central Anatolia regions. Tokat, İzmir, Mersin, Antalya, Bursa and Niğde are the leading provinces in which fruit juice factories have set up shop. According to data provided by MEYED, yearly total consumption has increased from 596.3 million liters in 2006 to 710 million liters in 2007. The data show that consumers prefer fruit juice over all other beverages. Yearly consumption per capita exceeded 10 liters in 2007, but still has a long way to go to reaching the consumption level of European Union member countries, which is close to 23 liters per capita. However, MEYED Secretary-General Ebru Akdağ states that the increase in the sale of one-liter cartons is an indication of the change in consumption habits, meaning that fruit juice is no longer exclusive to cafes or similar establishments but is now part of every home's refrigerator inventory.
Speaking to Today's Business, Akdağ links this to consumers' increasing consciousness of eating healthfully. Additionally, fruit juice used to be bought only in the summer, but this has changed in recent years and sales have leveled out across the seasons. The consumption of fruit juice increased from 2006 to 2007. While 100 percent fruit juice tops the list with a 34.3 percent increase in consumption, it is followed by fruit nectar with an increase of 25.7 percent. Fruit nectar, with 70.8 percent, had the largest proportion of total fruit juice consumption. In the last seven years, the 100 percent fruit juice sector has grown 30-fold, reaching a share of 8.8 percent among all other fruit juice products. The consumption of 100 percent fruit juice continues to increase, Akdağ notes. As for juice preference, mixed fruit juice ranks first in the 100 percent fruit juice category with a 30.3 percent share, while apple juice follows with a 20.6 percent share. Pomegranate juice comes third with 18.7 percent. Peach nectar ranks first with 35.6 percent, followed by sour cherry nectar with 23.5 percent and apricot nectar with 17.8 percent. Peach and sour cherry are also the two most-consumed fruits in the fruit beverages and flavored beverages categories. Turkish fruit juice producers do not rely solely on domestic consumption. A total of 81,029 tons of fruit juice were exported in 2007, earning distributors $160.2 million.
As for imports, 18,621 tons of fruit juice were imported at a cost of $34.5 million. Akdağ notes that EU member countries are the most important export market for Turkey. Among them is Germany, Turkey's largest export partner. The US, Japan, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC), Azerbaijan, Israel and Russia also import Turkish fruit juice products. Akdağ says Turkish fruit juice companies export products to more than 130 countries, noting that MEYED played a part in this accomplishment. The sector has grown rapidly, pulling Turkey into a period of uncertainty. Because the sector depends entirely on the production of raw fruits, the inability of raw fruit production to keep up with the fast-growing fruit juice production has been problematic. Data collected by MEYED demonstrates that raw fruits used to produce fruit juice increased by 9.1 percent while the production of raw fruits only increased by 3 percent between 2000 and 2005. Tamek Beverages Marketing Manager Bora Esinli says companies are turning to foreign sources, leading to ever-increasing amounts of imported fruit.
Esinli stresses the urgency of the issue, saying that no quick fixes are possible in the short term, but that long-term policies should be implemented in the agricultural sector that aim to counter the problem over a predefined period of time. "As the leading companies in the market, we provide farmers with millions of fruit trees each year for free," he says. Turkey's fruit juice industry closely cooperates with the International Federation of Fruit Juice Producers (IFU). Because MEYED is a member of the IFU, Turkey will host the 2010 World Fruit Juice Congress. In an internal meeting of the IFU held on March 2-4, 2008 in Sydney, Turkey was chosen over Italy and Mexico to be the host country. The congress will be held on May 3-8, 2010, and will be organized by MEYED. Turkey's fruit juice industry is evaluated by research companies on an annual basis. As the results of the Turkish Customer Satisfaction Index (TMME), a national survey carried out by the Turkey Quality Association (KALDER), show, Turkish customers are pleased with the quality they get from fruit juice producers. The results of the 2007 second quarter survey, the most recently published survey covering fruit juice in Turkey, show that Turkish customers gave the industry good marks. On a scale of zero to 100, the industry overall received a mark of 82. Pınar, a leading fruit juice company, ranked first in customer satisfaction among all fruit juice companies, with 86 points. Source: todayszaman.com
