Greenhouse aid package is a great opportunity for Turkish agriculture

Ozer Matli, Bursa Commodity Exchange Chairman at The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) said that the new greenhouse aid package is a great opportunity for Turkish agriculture.

Matli evaluated the new credit scheme for greenhouse investments and said: "In Turkey, 75% of bananas, 60% of cucumbers, 42% of green peppers, 45% of tomatoes and 32% of aubergines are grown in greenhouses. The aid package for greenhouses is important in order to prevent prices skyrocketing and to find stability."

Matli emphasized that the goal of the aid package is to increase the productivity in greenhouses and said: "Antalya, Mersin and Adana are three important cities in Turkey's greenhouse agriculture. 75% of greenhouse production in Turkey come from these cities. Turkey grows 7,8 million tons of products in greenhouses. However, Bursa provides only very limited part of this production in an area of 7,2 hectares. We need to be more efficient in greenhouse production."

How many greenhouses are there in Turkey?
Matli stated that Turkey has 75 thousand 200 hectares of greenhouses based on the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's data. He emphasized that only 2% of these greenhouses practice modern greenhouse agriculture. He said: "70% of the modern greenhouse production is exported. In terms of greenhouse product export Turkey has the smallest share in Europe. This data shows that Turkey could improve its greenhouse agriculture."

Matli also emphasized that Turkey has the advantage of relatively lower costs of heating and said:

"Heating greenhouses can be very costly, however the conditions in Turkey are in our favor. The heating costs usually depend on the season, region and the type of products. One can say that heating makes up 25 to 40% of the total cost. The installation cost for 0,1 hectare of greenhouse is around 40 to 60 thousand Euro. Bursa, Balikesir, Kutahya and Afyon have the advantage of geothermal resources. If we can manage to use these resources more efficiently, then we can increase the variety in our products of export. This aid package is a great opportunity for Turkish agriculture."

A closer look at the credit package for greenhouses
Investors now have the opportunity to use credit for up to 75% of the total investment with 8,25% of interest. The maximum time allowed for repayment is up to 7 years.

Medium and long term credits will also be provided for the producers who would like to repair and modernize their current greenhouses. Therefore, the productivity of greenhouses will be increased.

Producer Price Index of Agricultural Products, February 2019

Agriculture PPI increased by 2.73% in February

Producer price index of agricultural products (Agriculture - PPI), in February 2019, increased by 2.73% compared with the previous month, increased by 11.25% compared with December of the previous year, increased by 25.79% compared with the same month of the previous year and increased by 14.34% compared with twelve months averages.

Compared to the previous month; agriculture and hunting products increased by 2.85% and fishing increased by 6.32%, however, forestry products decreased by 7.13%.

The highest monthly increase was in perennial crops

Regarding monthly changes by main groups; perennial crops increased by 7.44%, non-perennial crops increased by 2.31% and live animals and animal products increased by 1.01%.

The vegetables from sub-agriculture groups increased by 2.73%

From sub-agriculture groups; there were increases for citrus fruits by 9.11%, other tree and bush fruits and nuts by 3.14%, cereals (except rice), leguminous crops and oil seeds by 2.67% and rice (in hulk) by 1.92% and, however, there were decreases for fibre plants by 2.45% and for live poultry and eggs by 0.15%.

In February 2019, 86 items were included in the Agriculture PPI; prices of 65 items increased, prices of 17 items decreased and prices of 4 items remained unchanged with respect to previous month.

Source: Turkish Statistical Institute

Growers start planting cucumber seeds in greenhouses in Batman

Growers in Batman, a city located in southeastern Turkey, moved the planting period to an earlier date due to better weather conditions this year. Growers in the Balpinar district have been earning their living through agricultural production for a long time.

The main product grown in the district is cucumber, and growers have planted the seeds for the first crops of the season. Growers noted that they expect to start harvesting in about 35 - 40 days. The first harvest continues up until late June. Afterwards growers clean up their greenhouses and start with the planting of the second product for the season, which is usually cucumber or tomato. So growers receive two products from their greenhouses in a year.

The local municipality has distributed greenhouse screens to help growers and to stimulate agricultural production in the area.

Growers in the area have traditionally produced tobacco and cotton, but now they have moved to vegetable production. First they had started vegetable production in the open field and now they have moved their production to greenhouses thanks to the support from the local municipality. Growers added that they are thankful to the local municipality for its support and that this kind of assistance could help agricultural production to grow even more in the area.

Milk and Milk Products, January 2019

Milk collected by integrated dairies was 808 thousand 222 tonnes

The amount of collected cow's milk in January decreased by 4.9% when compared to the same month of the previous year.

Drinking milk production by integrated dairies became 146 thousand 63 tonnes in January and decreased by 18% when compared to the same month of the previous year. Cheese production from cow's milk was 59 thousand 175 tonnes and decreased by 1.4% when compared to the same month of the previous year. Cheese production from sheep, goat, buffalo and mixed milk was 615 tonnes decreased by 0.4% when compared to the same month of the previous year.

Yoghurt production became 90 thousand 368 tonnes in January and decreased by 3.4% when compared to same month of the previous year. Drink made of yoghurt production became 50 thousand 32 tonnes and decreased by 5.5% when compared to the same month of the previous year.

In January the average fat rate of cow's milk collected by integrated dairies was 3.5%, the average rate of protein was 3.3%.

Seasonal and calendar adjusted amount of collected cow's milk in January when compared to the previous month increased by 0.6%. Calendar adjusted amount of collected cow's milk in January when compared to the same month of the previous year decreased by 4.9%.

Source: Turkish Statistical Institute

Turkey grows organic products for exports

Turkey exports organic products to 12 countries. The highest revenue was from the export of organic hazelnuts, figs, apricots, grapes and strawberries, cotton and fruit juices. The United States is the leading importer of Turkish organic products. Exports to the United States make up 18,4% of the country's organic export in terms of value, with Germany, France, The Netherlands, Switzerland and other European countries taking up the remainder.

The majority of organic products grown in Turkey are exported, therefore, foreign demands shape the range of these products. Turkey's organic product export totaled 37 million USD in 2003 , and this increased to 77 million USD in 2016. From 2005 until 2009, the exports of organic products totaled 27 million USD on average. However, in 2010, the revenues plummeted by almost half which can be explained by the global economic crisis. The data is gathered from exporter companies, therefore the numbers do not reflect the total data on exports of organic products.

In the beginning of 1990s., Turkey's main agricultural export products (raisins, hazelnuts and cotton) constituted a major part of the organic exports. However, the range of products has expanded since then. Nowadays, Turkey's organic product exports include not only hazelnuts but also figs, dried fruits, spices, fresh fruits and vegetables, processed fruits and vegetables, cereals, industrial crops, oily seeds and other raw and processed produce.

In the last few years, organic agriculture has become even more widespread in the world and the global organic food market is expanding day by day. Turkey is a typical example of a country that develops organic agriculture based on their exports potential. Most of their organic products are exported, however the domestic market is also expanding. Even though the climate in Turkey is very suitable to practice organic agriculture, the country's share on the global organic food market is quite small. Therefore, it is very important that Turkey improves its organic agriculture and increases its organic exports.