Pear producers are now manufacturing their own crates

Founded in 1958 in the Gürsu district of Bursa, the cooperative primarily serves pear producers with its 2 cold storage facilities, which have a total capacity of 4,000 tons. Seeking a solution to meet the need for fruit crates, which is a significant item in production, the cooperative members prepared an EU project. Having received a 280,000 euro grant following the approval of the project, the pear producers have been manufacturing plastic fruit crates at a facility they established 3 months ago. The cooperative members, who meet the crate needs of their partners, other farmers in the region, and traders, manufacture approximately 9,000 crates per day.

Cooperative President Hakan Şener stated that the cooperative, which has 220 partners, is one of the first organizations in this field in Turkey.

Stating that the cooperative exports fruit to Arab countries and Europe, Şener said, "Our cooperative was involved in peach production in past years, and later brought pears to this plain. Our cooperative, which paved the way for the Deveci pear and Santa Maria pear to become very widespread in our plain, has also led the way in exports for years."

Emphasizing that nectarines are also produced in the region, Şener provided information that crate production was born out of necessity.

Şener stated that there was an abundance of pears in 2022 and that traders were buying the product at prices below its value, and continued his words as follows:

"At that time, as a cooperative, we raised the kilogram price of pears, which the trader had announced as 10 liras, to 15 liras. Producers showed interest in our cooperative. Therefore, a serious need for crates also arose. We thought that we should produce the crates within our own organization. Upon this, we submitted a project to the European Union. It is a project related to manufacturing the crates ourselves, manufacturing crates from recycled materials, and subsequently packaging the product in a controlled atmosphere. In other words, it is a complex system. The first leg of our project has been put into operation. In the coming process, we will also prepare projects related to dried pears and pear juice. We aim to produce our own energy with solar power. We aimed to purchase the product from our partners in a way that they would not lose money, to sell it to the foreign market, and to create an environment where everyone is happy."

"WE HAVE PRODUCED OVER 750 THOUSAND CRATES"

Hakan Şener stated that 9,000 crates can be produced daily at the facility.

Touching upon the fact that this production provides great benefits to the cooperative partners, Şener said, "When our partners cannot sell the product from the branch and there is a need for crates, the crates produced by our cooperative come to the rescue. In years when the yield is very high, crate prices increase when production exceeds the planned amount. Producers will not face exorbitant prices with our crate manufacturing. We have the capacity to meet the needs of our partners."

Stating that they produce sturdy crates, Şener noted that partners and traders see the difference between what they produce and those on the market.

Reporting that they will continue to produce quality crates at a normal price, Şener said, "Producers in the region where we are located also work with traders. We also sell crates to traders. In this way, we also generate income for our cooperative. We have produced over 750 thousand crates so far."

Gürsu Mayor Mustafa Işık also explained that with this project of the cooperative, they acted as a reference to support farmers and those working in agriculture.

Saying that the production of crates in this region will provide advantages in different areas, Işık noted the following:

"We have brought approximately 330 thousand euros from the European Union to our Ağaköy cooperative. A brand value was created with the project we received support for from the European Union. At the same time, we are maintaining this brand value with our support to our neighboring districts, our guests coming from different provinces, and again to the farmers producing in Gürsu. Crates are especially needed during fruit harvesting time. By supporting this production, we have both paved the way for them to produce more cost-effective crates and stood by our farmers by producing healthier, higher-quality crates."

Işık added that they are engaged in environmentally friendly production at the established facility and have provided a significant amount of employment.

News Source: 12punto