Peppers grown in greenhouses are harvested in the early season and sold for 1 USD per kg for sweet and 1.2 USD for hot pepper at farmgate whereas it is sold at 2.2 USD/ kg at retail. Producers stated that both the yield and earnings were good for them this year, but they also noted that it is wrong to sell at such a high margin in supermarkets.
In Mersin, which is one of the main vegetable and fruit production centers, many products are grown in greenhouses with a lot of effort in winter. After retiring in the Erdemli district, Adem Keskin, who established two separate greenhouses of 1,600 square meters, has been producing red pepper with his wife for 3 years and harvesting them with the help of his children. Keskin, who has been producing pepper for 3 years, said that he expects an income of 12,000 USD by harvesting more than 10 products from his two greenhouses this year.
Adem Keskin: "It is like a hobby to us. I have 2 sons and they help with heavy work. I was producing tomatoes before but then I gave up. I have been producing peppers for 3 years. Pepper has been better for me. It's clean, its yield is high, it's easy to work. We also try to offer a different product variety to Erdemli. We usually produce tomatoes and lemons. I think it will be a little more beneficial for our county if we can produce different products such as eggplant and pepper. At least I have started the production of a new product. We are planting in August. The seed starts to show itself in 10 days, then we tie it to vineyards after 20 days. It starts to appear as green pepper after 25 days. It has a nice aroma, it gives a nice taste. Although it is bitter, it does not burn that much, it has a sweet taste."
Pointing out that they use coal stoves inside the greenhouses to avoid frost, Keskin noted that they set up the stoves during the day and work them in the evenings to keep the interior at 3 degrees.
Pointing out that they sell the peppers they produce to many big cities, starting from Erdemli, Adiyaman, Hatay, Diyarbakir, Istanbul, and Ankara, Keskin said, "Our products this year are fruitful for us. "If you plant lemons on 600 square meters of space, you would sell for around 1000 USD right now. Compared to this, pepper is a good source of income for growers.
Markets need to lower their prices. It is wrong that the pepper they buy from us for 1 USD is sold at 2 USD per kg. I am even talking about the markets in Erdemli, not in Istanbul. They buy it from here and put it in the market for 2 USD. This is just too much and scares away consumers.”
Source: Yeni Akit