Turkish seeds to serve South Korean greenhouses

Frequently, Turkey and Korea are called blood brothers. Because of Turkish blood sacrificed during the Korean War, the unique way of Turkish culture eventually saturated the heart of many Koreans. But nowadays, Turkish vegetable varieties can also be found more often in South Korea's burgeoning greenhouse industry.

“We are promoting Turkish culture among the Korean greenhouse growers” said Raymond Lee, country manager of Yuksel Tohum Korea. According to Lee, Korean growers are more often interested in Yuksel varieties not only because of their Turkish origin but also because growers try to find extra-ordinary varieties. "The markets demand varieties that distinguish themselves on the market, in all kind of ranges, sizes and sorts. End users are demanding special varieties, with special tastes and looks."

This was the reason for the breeders of Yuksel to develop special varieties for the South Korean market. "We observed the market for many years and gained experience in our search of the perfect varieties," Ismail Gulsoy, Asia-Pacific Regional Manager of Yuksel Tohum said. "Our breeding programs have been restructured to introduce quality and quantity greenhouse vegetable varieties over here."

Gulsoy explained that South Korea is a high value market with high competition. "There are many breeders active that want to have a piece of the pie. In most cases they introduce tons of different varieties, somtimes they introduce new varieties every day. But we know that the number of varieties that you introduce does not mean that that the varieties are satisfying. We try to break the tradition and introduce only varieties that will meet the demand and wishes of the growers in the regions and production areas. We know the pressure of the king’s heavy crown and our breeding program is ready to put the crowns on the top”

"After completing several case studies and checking all the segments of the South Korean market, Yuksel Tohum will introduce varieties of various ranges from high value to common cultivars that will satisfy both growers and demands in the market. Schematics of key varieties will be drawn for introduction in the Korean market this year, and the first commercial varieties will become available shortly."

Yüksel Seed
Raymond Lee
Country Manager of Korea
rlee@yukselseed.com
www.yukselseed.com

İsmail Gülsoy
Asia-Pacific Regional Manager
igulsoy@yukseltohum.com
www.yukseltohum.com