The season's first cherries head to Qatar
The first cherries harvested in the Kemalpaşa district of İzmir have been exported to Qatar.
AA
The event held for the first harvest in the Bağyurdu Plain was attended by İzmir Governor Süleyman Elban, Provincial Director of Agriculture and Forestry Mustafa Şahin, Kemalpaşa District Governor Musa Sarı, Mayor Mehmet Türkmen, Chamber of Agriculture President Bülent Oray, and cherry producers.
Visiting the orchard of producer Engin Uğur, Governor Elban received information and picked cherries.
In a statement to reporters here, Governor Elban expressed his wishes for the first cherry harvest in the district to be auspicious.
Stating that cherry production is carried out on an area of 118 thousand 500 decares in the district, Elban said that 112 thousand tons are harvested annually and 60 percent of these cherries are exported.
Governor Elban said, "We wanted to be with our producers and the merchants involved in this business today while the harvest is taking place. We came to wish for it to be auspicious, fruitful, and to bring abundant earnings. Hopefully, it will be a productive year."
THE SEASON'S FIRST EXPORT TO QATAR
Kemalpaşa Chamber of Agriculture President Bülent Oray also explained that early-season cherries have begun to find markets more quickly in recent years.
Expressing that the value of the products will increase as markets multiply, Oray said, "The truck loaded today is going to Qatar. We request that more companies come here. Hopefully, it will be auspicious, and we will not encounter any negativity. If weather conditions permit for our main products, the 'Ziraat 900' and 'Napoleon' cherries, and if prices improve, it will be a year where our producers are smiling."