With the increase in demand for fruit growing in the fertile lands of Anatolia from all around the world, the exports of these products doubled to reach $271 million between January and May.

The harvest season, which started in the gardens with cherries with the arrival of spring, continues with strawberries, peaches, nectarines and apricots.

A success story is being written for fresh fruit this season following the recent increase in production quality, exporters' search for alternative markets, the reopening of the Russian market, Turkish Cargo's special flights and the foreign exchange's support for exports. According to countrywide figures from the Aegean Exporters' Association, Turkey's exports of fresh fruit between January and May increased by 105 percent, reaching $271 million. Exports stood at 388,506 tons with an increase of 49 percent, while the export price per kilogram was recorded as 70 cents.

Meanwhile, the exports of fresh vegetables decreased by 1 percent to $330 million in the same period, also dropping by 11 percent with a quantity of 628,574 tons.

During this period, Turkey sent fruit and vegetables to a total of 143 countries, including Russia, Iraq, Romania and Germany. The increase in fresh fruit exports was due to the rapid rise in sales of cherries, strawberries, nectarines and peaches to Russia. Cherry exports in the first five months rose by 184 percent compared to the same period last year, reaching $54 million. In addition to the three major markets, Germany, Russia and Norway, a rapid rise in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia was also noteworthy with regard to the cherry exports. Nectarine and peach exports increased by 120 percent to $28 million in the first five months, while strawberry exports surged by 160 percent to $22 million in the same period. In these products, a significant portion of exports were made to Russia, followed by Iraq, Romania and Saudi Arabia.

Aegean Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Exporters' Association Chair Hayrettin Uçak said producers and exporters joined forces this year and had a good season thanks to the good news from the Russian market as well as the alternative markets.