Greenhouse tomato growers from Antalya, Turkey are experiencing serious difficulties due to the trade problems with Russia.
The problems at the Russian customs are not completely solved yet and the quota imposed on Turkish import tomatoes by Russia is causing massive amounts of waste for the growers as most of the growers were forced to dump their products after they were stuck at the Russian customs for many days.
Speaking at the Parliament, main opposition party senator Aydin Ozer: “If we do not solve the trade problems with Russia, Turkish tomato production will take a significant hint and many growers will either shift to alternative products or stop being a grower altogether. If we cannot organize export channels properly, then we will lose our market positions regardless of our production volume and quality. The exports to Russia had already dropped significantly during the political crisis in 2015 and are yet to recover fully. Nearly 5,000 tons of tomatoes have been dumped as waste recently.
"I’m a greenhouse grower myself so I know firsthand the problems our growers experience. The agricultural production in Turkey creates a lot of jobs for people and the growers have to deal with high production costs. On top of that, growers now have to deal with the state itself as a competitor, as the state has started up its own grower company. If we hurt our growers like this, the production will decline rapidly and we will be forced to import fresh produce for high prices. The state should be helping the growers by providing them support in the purchase of seeds and in removing trade barriers with other countries.”
Source: Kanal B