Growers in the district of Erdemli, in the south of Turkey, are please with the fall tomatoes they have grown, according to Chairman of Erdemli Chamber of Agriculture (EZO) Rasim Sahin. “Annually 450,000 – 500,000 tons of tomatoes are grown in the district of Erdemli located in southern part of Turkey in the city of Mersin. The production numbers are increasing every year and currently there are greenhouses of 270,000 square feet where tomatoes are grown. With the introduction of growing tomatoes for the fall season, now greenhouse tomatoes are sold around 2 TL [0.42 euros] per kg whereas greenhouse tomatoes were sold under 1 TL [0.21 euros] last year in spring and summer season."
"The growers were looking for brokers to sell their products last year even if it was under their cost price, but now our growers are getting good return on their investments. This is vital for the economy of our district. We are hopeful that we will soon start exporting to Russia, Balkan countries, Middle East countries and other European countries."
Various other tomato growers in the district remarked that the 2 TL price for tomatoes is satisfactory for them and that it is a significant improvement over last year’s prices. They have also added that this year’s prices helped them to recoup some of their losses from last year and hope that the prices will be similar next year as well.
Source: Sabah