Turkey must increase their export regions and volumes for the export of garlic.

The Turkish garlic season has only just started, and the production of garlic in Turkey is increasing, says Tumen Tarim’s export manager Kerem Balti.“The new season for Turkish garlic has just started in the first week of May. This year, Turkey expects to have a total volume of 100,000 tons, which is more than production has been in the past few years. As it stands now, garlic production in Turkey is increasing every year.”

As production is growing, so should the export volumes, Kerem explains. Especially now that China is having more trouble supplying its usual markets. “The local market is really good for Turkish garlic, but we also increase our exports to Europe, the Middle East, Russia, and Ukraine. Last season the biggest problem proved to be global transportation. There was a severe lack of containers, and freight rates were expensive. This has led to China having problems supplying their garlic, which causes overall demand for the product from the region to decrease. This means Turkey must increase their export regions and volumes for export, which we’re hoping for this season.”

Kerem feels that the North American market could prove a very important one this year: “Last season, we managed to export some trial containers of garlic to the United States. Thankfully, our garlic production made a good first impression, so this season we’d like to focus more on both the markets in the United States and Canada. To be successful in these regions, we’re looking for a strong partner in USA and Canada.”

“This season, the weather was relatively cold, so the sizes for garlic are slightly smaller than they were last year, but not by that much. Overall it won’t affect the capacity to supply. We expect this season to be positive, with increasing export volumes and entering the USA and Canada with the garlic. Let’s hope we find some strong partners!” Kerem concludes.

Turkey must increase their export regions and volumes for the export of garlic. PDF