The high-quality apples cultivated in Niğde and sold to Middle Eastern countries by means of the bio-wax method have now turned to the Far Eastern countries.

A company operating in the city has established the country's first apple processing and packaging plant with the bio-wax system with the grant support provided within the scope of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's Rural Development Support Program.

After being washed and dried with special machines in the facility, the apples grown in the region are subjected to a bio-wax process which provides long-term protection with special technique and gives a brighter appearance to the apples. In the plant, which has an average packaging capacity of 100 tons per day, 13,000 tons of apples are processed annually, 8,000 tons of which are exported to Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia, Dubai and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as well as India. Niğde apples are also attracting attention from the Far Eastern countries like Malaysia and also Bangladesh.

The facility's export manager Yusuf Arslan said that they could store 10,000 tons of products in the facility established with the support of the ministry and export 80 percent of the apples they process.

Arslan said their main target for exports are the Far Eastern countries, adding that they have a production capacity of around 13,000 tons per year. Pointing out that they currently export 80 percent of their production to Saudi Arabia, Dubai, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait in the Middle East, Arslan said they export 8,000 tons of apples per year, adding that their main target is the Far East and Southeast Asia. "We receive requests from countries such as India, Malaysia and Bangladesh," he added.

Arslan stated that approximately 130 workers are employed at the facility. "The reason we do this is to market the products we produce to the Far and Middle Eastern markets at a higher price. With bio-wax, we provide more dollars to our country as a national contribution. With the support of our ministry, we switched to the bio-wax system. Our average daily packaging is between 80 and 100 tons," he continued.