Turkey’s cherry and sour cherry export revenue jumps 333% to $101.7 million
Turkey’s cherry and sour cherry exports reached $101.72 million in the first six months, up 333% from $23.48 million a year earlier. A larger crop after the previous season’s frost damage supported the recovery, with Germany, Russia and other European Union markets among the main destinations.
Export revenue rebounds after frost-hit season
Turkey’s revenue from cherry and sour cherry exports rose to $101.72 million in the first six months of the year, according to data from the Turkish Exporters Assembly, or TİM. That was 333% higher than the $23.48 million recorded in the same period a year earlier, when frost reduced production and restricted the volume available to foreign buyers.
Ekonomim and Sözcü reported that the increase was driven by a stronger harvest following the previous season’s weather-related losses. The figures combine sweet cherries and sour cherries, two products with different end markets but overlapping production, packing and logistics networks. No separate revenue or shipment-volume data were provided for the two categories, so the reported increase cannot be divided between higher physical exports and changes in average export prices.
Western Mediterranean region handles about 40%
About 40% of Turkey’s cherry and sour cherry exports were shipped through the Western Mediterranean Exporters Association, or BAİB, which covers Antalya, Isparta and Burdur. The association’s export revenue reached $40.62 million in the first half, an increase of 376% from $8.52 million in the corresponding period last year.
BAİB Chairman Mehmet Ali Can said the previous year’s frost had damaged production and left exports below expectations. This season’s crop was considerably stronger, he said. Harvesting began on May 20 and is expected to continue progressively across different growing areas until the end of August. Can expects shipments in July and August to lift the regional export total further.
Long harvest window supports European retail supply
Germany, Russia and other European Union countries are the leading destinations for shipments from the Western Mediterranean region. Exporters also use air cargo to reach markets in the Middle East and Far East, according to Can. These longer routes are commercially relevant for a highly perishable product, although the source reports did not disclose shipment volumes, freight costs or revenue by destination.
Isparta holds a particularly strong position in regional cherry production. BAİB exporters also source fruit along a wider production corridor extending from İzmir to the Andırın district of Kahramanmaraş. Can said the geographical spread allows Turkey’s harvest to run over a long period, making its cherries attractive to European supermarket chains that require continuity of supply. The same regional export base has also recorded notable increases in shipments of peaches, nectarines and apricots, although no figures were provided for those products.
Recovery raises the importance of late-season execution
The first-half result shows how quickly export earnings can recover when production normalizes after a frost-hit crop. For growers and packing companies, the larger harvest increases throughput and restores access to established buyers. It also raises the operational burden of grading, cooling and moving more perishable fruit during a limited marketing window.
The remaining harvest and the planned July-August shipments will determine how far revenue advances beyond the first-half level. Weather conditions across later-producing regions, product quality and access to fast transport will be central to that outcome. The available TİM data establish a sharp recovery in export value, but do not yet show whether the sector has surpassed earlier records in volume or whether the gain mainly represents a return from an unusually weak frost-affected base.
