Turkey ramps up vegetable production as European production is expected to decrease

Vegetable producers in Turkey expect European greenhouse producers to reduce their production volume in 2022 due to the high natural gas prices in Europe as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war. For this reason, both open field and greenhouse producers in Turkey increased their production volumes. Tomato is one of the important products. Turkish producers expect the Netherlands' tomato production, which fell last year from 910,000MT in 2020 to 900,000MT in 2021, to continue to fall in 2022. For this reason, Turkish producers have increased the tomato planted area compared to last year. The price of tomatoes going into W39 is around USD 1.93-2.12/kg EXW Turkey.

According to Turkish exporters, contracts for large volumes of produce have been negotiated between European supermarkets and Turkish producers. European supermarkets have signed agreements with greenhouse owners from the Eastern Mediterranean, especially those engaged in soilless agriculture, to have production done on their behalf.