In recent years the global market has become segmented. Products are found in open markets, supermarkets and smaller grocery stores. “The same applies in Turkey”, says Avi Shamir, Zeraim Gedera Vegetable Specialist in Turkey.

“As far as tomatoes are concerned, the demand in the Turkish market is huge. Tomatoes are consumed at every meal and in almost every dish: in salads, which are made mainly of tomatoes, meat dishes, with fish and cheese. One can almost say that tomatoes are a national dish in Turkey. To understand this one need only go to a local supermarket, for example Migros, to find that 120 tons of tomatoes are consumed there per day”.

Q: Does that include the entire range of tomato varieties?

“No, in Turkey, tomato consumption consists mainly of regular large tomatoes”.

Q: What about Cherry Tomatoes in Turkey?

“I do not anticipate great changes in Turkish eating habits. I predict that cherry tomatoes will be sold on a very small scale to specific markets in the country, for instance, in the city of Mercin, where cherry tomatoes are used in a lamb liver dish.” Mr. Shamir adds that, “mainly tourists and diplomats living in Turkey consume such tomatoes”.

Q: What is Zeraim Gedera’s position as far as marketing is concerned?

“After living in Turkey for so many years, I can tell you that Zeraim Gedera has managed to develop very strong ties with local markets. For instance, ‘Harmony’, one of our very attractive and tasty varieties , will be sold in Migros supermarkets all around Turkey.

We work according to very high standards to comply with Turkish demands. Our tomatoes, known for their deep red color and long shelf life, on which our breeders at Zeraim Gedera have worked very hard, are considered our Company’s specialty in Turkey, making us a leading company there.” The local population’s preference in Turkey is greatly affected by the supermarket chains. Every marketing manager aspires to have his products chosen and displayed in these markets. This is exactly what happened to Zeraim Gedera’s Avi Shamir and our marketing branch there. “To understand our success there, one must learn a bit about the background”, says Mr. Shamir. “To sell in Turkey, the tomato must be firm, red and have long shelf life. Our Shirley tomato has all these characteristics. Migros supermarkets inspected the tomato, tasted it and liked it very much.

They realized that, with its excellent shelf life, their money will not be wasted. Consequently, they gave their growers explicit recommendations to grow Zeraim Gedera’s tomatoes”. The same success was repeated with Metro supermarkets, where they also told their farmers in Southwest Turkey to grow Zeraim Gedera’s Shirley variety.

Turkey produces 1,600 kg of tomato seeds. Mr. Shamir believes that “a growth in export from Turkey, mainly to Eastern European countries, may increase the tomato production. For instance, our ‘Amanda’ tomato variety is highly recommended there for export.”

As part of his work in Turkey, Avi Shamir frequently travels around the country, where he gets to meet a lot of the local growers. His face glows when I ask him about their reaction to him every time they meet. “They can’t stop thanking me; they kiss my hands, as local custom requires, in an expression of respect.”

As for the customers, he says, “I will tell you a story. My wife and I do our home shopping in Fenerbahce, Istanbul, where we live. One day, while shopping in the supermarket, I saw a few ‘high society’ Turkish ladies approach the shelves where the organic vegetables and cherry tomatoes are kept. They grasped them in their arms, and appeared to be enjoying it a lot. However, they put them back on the shelf and went to the regular tomato shelves to fill their shopping carts. That tells you the brief story of the Turkish tomato market.”

Q: Does the Company offer other products beside tomatoes to the local market there?

“Certainly, we have only recently introduced our Beit Alpha cucumber varieties, which I must say not surprisingly, are doing very well. Furthermore, our Dolma type pepper was introduced this year including two main varieties: an autumn and spring variety grown in the Eastern parts of Turkey and a winter variety grown in the Kumluca area west of Antalya.”

“The potential of the Turkish market is vast and if we continue along the same path, the sky is the limit for us.”

Contact:
Tal Franck
Zeraim Gedera
Phone: +972 89446220
Email

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