FISKOBIRLIK Did Not Slow Down in Exports Despite the Pandemic

FISKOBIRLIK did not slow down in exports despite the pandemic FISKOBIRLIK Acting General Manager Turgay Çakmak: "We reached 2 million dollars of our 5-million-dollar export target for 2021 in the first 5 months" "60 percent of the hazelnut exports from which we earn between 2-3 billion dollars every year...
FISKOBIRLIK did not slow down in exports despite the pandemic

FISKOBIRLIK Acting General Manager Turgay Çakmak:

"We reached 2 million dollars of our 5-million-dollar export target for 2021 in the first 5 months"

"60 percent of the hazelnut exports from which we earn between 2-3 billion dollars every year are natural, but if we had converted them into finished products, our export revenue could rise 3-4 fold"

"Nearly 90 percent of the exports we make to 25 countries as FISKOBIRLIK consist of our finished products"

GIRESUN - It was stated that FISKOBIRLIK, which has turned to value-added hazelnut products in recent years, did not slow down in exports even during the pandemic, exporting 100 varieties of products to 25 countries, including the Middle East, European countries and the USA.

Providing information on the subject, FISKOBIRLIK Acting General Manager Turgay Çakmak stated that they reached 2 million dollars of their 5-million-dollar export target for 2021 in the first 5 months of the year. Acting General Manager Turgay Çakmak said, "As FISKOBIRLIK, we export to 25 countries. These include countries such as the United States, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, Australia, Algeria, Libya and the United Arab Emirates. In general, we export products to every continent in the world. As FISKOBIRLIK, we started exporting 3 years ago. In the first and second years, we achieved 2 million dollars in exports. We set our export target for 2021 at around 5 million dollars. We surpassed 2 million dollars of this target in the first 5 months of 2021. The season continues."

"The future of Turkish hazelnuts lies in finished products"

Stating that the way forward for Turkish hazelnuts will be opened through branding, Çakmak said, " When we look at Türkiye's hazelnut exports, we need to turn more towards processed and finished products. We have nearly 100 products on a barcode basis. Nearly 90 percent of our exports consist of our finished products. Branding is important for us. Because we anticipate that the way forward for Turkish hazelnuts will be opened through finished products and branding. For this reason, we launched a product called Nuga in 2006, and this was followed by our sugar-free spread product. The pandemic period went more productively for the hazelnut industry engaged in production compared to other sectors. In particular, the increasing demand for hazelnut products was welcomed by manufacturing companies. When we evaluate the period, our most sought-after product was the milk and cocoa hazelnut cream known as the cream group. Along with this, it should also be noted that there was an increase in hazelnut spread sales compared to previous years. We started exporting natural roasted hazelnuts this year. But our target is entirely finished products. Because we want to provide more added value to hazelnuts. At the same time, Turkish hazelnuts are the export product that generates the most revenue among agricultural products. We earn between 2-3 billion dollars every year, but nearly 60 percent of exports are sold as natural hazelnuts. Whereas if these hazelnuts were processed and sold as finished products, our export revenue would have increased three- or four-fold."

"Exports of 343 thousand tons in 2020 came in at 210 thousand tons in 2021"

Also evaluating how the pandemic period affected the hazelnut market, FISKOBIRLIK Acting General Manager Çakmak said, "The world has been fighting the pandemic for 1.5 years. During this struggle, many sectors were affected in terms of both supply and stocks. Our hazelnut exports averaged 343 thousand tons last year. In the last 20 years, hazelnut exports have exceeded 300 thousand tons only in the 2012 and 2019 seasons. The reason exports came in at 343 thousand tons last season is that exporting companies switched to working with stocks in exports so as not to experience supply difficulties in raw materials due to the uncertainty caused by the pandemic. Leaving this year aside, exports are taking place at the average of other years. As of April 30, 210 thousand tons of hazelnuts had been exported. The reason for this, along with the stockpiling in 2020, was also the high hazelnut production in Italy, the United States and Chile."

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