Turkey's flower exports in 2021 reached $148 million by increasing 38% compared to the previous year, officials said Wednesday.

Ornamental plants and products were among the sectors that increased their exports during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ismail Yılmaz, the head of the Ornamental Plants and Products Exporters' Association, said that they have an export expectation of $180 million this year.

"We have never been able to reach this figure before. I can say that the export of about $150 million is a historical record," Yılmaz told the Anadolu Agency (AA), adding that they exported $107 million worth of flowers in 2020.

Expressing that Colombia, Ecuador and Kenya were the main exporters in the market before the pandemic, Yılmaz said, "The high logistics costs led the markets to Turkey, which is closer. This provided added value to our exports. We export flowers to 83 countries including European and Gulf countries."

"Since the arrival of products from distant countries has slowed down due to costs, there has been a tendency towards us. I hope we will make it permanent," said Yılmaz, emphasizing that Turkey's importance has increased even more during the pandemic.

'The largest part of exports is carnations'

Yılmaz stated that the majority of exports in ornamental plants are carnations. Noting that red, white, purple and burgundy carnations were almost out of stock especially during New Year's Eve, Yılmaz said that they also had supply difficulties.

Expressing that they do not want to reduce the export figure they have achieved as a sector, Yılmaz added that they aim for at least 20% growth for this year as well.