Turkish Lemon Guide

Trade Agreements

According to European Commission, agricultural trade relations between the EU and Turkey are governed by the EU-Turkey agreement on the trade of farm products. The Turkish government has aligned with EU trade policy in that there are no special requirements regarding the import/export of citrus fruit.

The agreement has an asymmetrical nature. Turkey benefits from eliminating ad valorem duties on all except the most sensitive agricultural products, which are covered by quotas. EU preferences are limited to the quotas listed in the agreement.

The Turkey-EU Customs Union eliminated custom duties and quantitative restrictions. As a result of the Customs Union, Turkey opened its internal market to EU and third-country competition while securing free access to the EU market. In addition, Turkey has sought to align itself to the preferential regimes that the EU applies to third countries and to harmonize its legislation with the EU’s acquis communautaire in a broad spectrum of areas, including standards and technical legislation and competition policy.

Value Chain: Growers -> Packers -> Traders -> Importers -> Retailers

Most lemon growers in Turkey are small-scale farmers, and very few growers possess their packaging facilities. Growers sell the harvest to packers in tree units. The packers are responsible for picking the fruits, loading them on trucks, and transporting them to packaging facilities. Deals with packers must be for the entire farm (not by tree units). Packers are also responsible for the calibration and grading of fruits.

Some packers engage directly with importers without going through traders or intermediaries. Importers prefer this direct setup as packers can secure better quality. Fewer intermediaries are involved for larger packinghouses. 

There is no specific supply network among Turkish lemon suppliers, but many works under associations or cooperatives. It is also common for suppliers to purchase from other suppliers to meet order quotes.

Lemons are mainly produced in 2 cities south of Turkey namely Mersin, Adana, and Hatay. Fresh lemon production in Türkiye for 2021/22 was forecasted at 1.33M mt, an increase of about 22% YoY compared to the prior year's output of 1.1M mt.

Source: Tridge OMs

Turkish lemons have a longer seasonality than oranges and tangerines, and different varieties are harvested in different seasons all year round. Meyer is the first variety to ripen, and harvest spans from middle to end of August, succeeded by Interdonato in mid to late September, then Lama from late October to late November.

Turkish Lemon Seasonality

Source: Tridge

With the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, there was a severe decrease in exports from Turkey to these countries. Still, Russia and Ukraine remains among the to 5 importing countries. Iraq was second to Russia among the major importers. There is increasing tendency for exporting fresh lemons to the EU and Serbia. 

Source: Tridge

Source: Tridge

No significant issues with local transportation as majority of the lemon packaging facilities are located close to the Port of Mersin. The major exporting port is the port of Novorossiysk. Various local logistics companies with trucks and vessels are present. And also, international companies such as Hapag Lloyd, MSC, and others are based in Türkiye.

Pre-export: Packers mainly purchase fruits right after receiving orders, except when there is a projected high demand and price (packers may purchase lemon beforehand). There are around 20 ~ 25 major players in the market.

Export: Exporters or packers carry the goods to the port and then ship them to their respective importing countries via sea freights. FOB is the most preferred payment term. 

If the need for a third-party inspection is required, the private firm SGS most often performs the assessment. The importer is responsible for the cost of a 3rd party inspection, and if the packer exports directly, it is their responsibility for the examination.

Lemons are segregated based on size. 45-88mm is the standard range with the most preferred sizes for export as 45,54,60,66 and 72 mm. But size alone is not the decisive factor as importers often place orders in batches with a combination of sizes. 

Quality Standard and Tolerance of Defects

Source: Tridge

Quality tolerances

(i) "Extra" Class A total tolerance of 5%, by number or weight, of citrus fruit not satisfying the requirements of the class but meeting those of Class I is allowed. Within this tolerance, not more than 0.5% in total may consist of produce satisfying the requirements of Class II quality.

(ii) Class I A total tolerance of 10%, by number or weight, of citrus fruit not satisfying the requirements of the class but meeting those of Class II is allowed. Within this tolerance, not more than 1% in total may consist of produce satisfying neither the requirements of Class II quality nor the minimum requirements of produce affected by decay.

(iii) Class II A total tolerance of 10%, by number or weight, of citrus fruit satisfying neither the requirements of the class nor the minimum requirements is allowed. Within this tolerance, not more than 2% in total may consist of produce affected by decay.

The main competitors for Turkish lemons are Spain and Argentina, as the countries that import Turkish lemons also import lemons from Spain and Argentina. Spanish lemon exports are usually destined for the EU and Middle Eastern countries, and Argentine lemons exports to Russia have increased.

The most critical problem traders face with logistics. Shipment costs increased in 2022, and the lack of containers and rerouting of containers marked a tough season. On top of that, costs increased due to waiting times, analysis, and similar applications in the entry-exit processes at the border gates.

The MY 2021/22 forecast for lemon exports is slightly upward to 780,000 MT. Lemon exports were up 25% YoY due to increased domestic production and strong export demand. Simultaneously, producers are growing new, earlier-maturing lemon varieties extending the lemon export season.

The main export markets were Russia, Iraq, and Ukraine. As of January 2022, Turkish lemon exports to the EU and the UK were subject to increased testing for pesticides, and the rate of testing by shipment has been raised to 50%. 

In 2022 consequences of COVID-19 in Türkiye reflected in labor shortages in the agricultural sector. In the post-pandemic period, some growers had difficulty keeping up with plantation management, causing an overall production volume decrease, and the decline is estimated at 30%. The lockdown in China earlier in the year and the Russia-Ukraine conflict were the two most significant obstacles to Türkiye's export of fresh lemon.