The Russia-Ukraine war has fueled the energy crisis affecting Europe and pushed actors in both the Russian and European agricultural sectors to turn their attention to Turkish greenhouse producers to maintain supply chains, a sector representative said Friday.
Halil Kozan, chairperson of the Board of the Greenhouse Construction Hardware and Equipment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (SERKONDER), stated that Türkiye's geopolitical position provides an advantage for the sector.
Kozan said: "This crisis will encourage countries to invest in modern greenhouse cultivation to solve on-site production and supply chain problems," adding that greenhouse cultivation is carried out on an area of 500,000 hectares around the world and Türkiye has the capacity and ability to respond quickly to the greenhouse projects that Russia and others will need.
"Our country ranks fifth in greenhouse cultivation in the world and second in Europe. Russia wants to increase greenhouse investments. The Russians have started to demand their products and services from various European countries such as the Netherlands and Spain, and from Turkish companies that produce with advanced technology and offer satisfactory solutions in terms of software automation."
Stating that greenhouse cultivation is one of the fastest growing sectors in Türkiye, Kozan said: "Until the 2000s, modern greenhouses in our country were completely installed by foreign companies, today they can be done 100% locally. Our industry is in a position to compete with other countries in terms of software, automation and engineering."
The greenhouse production area in Türkiye is approximately 850,000 decares and according to Kozan, these numbers should increase even more.
"Modern greenhouses are like a factory. Thanks to these greenhouses, agricultural producers can spread the production to 12 months of the year and drastically increase the yield," he said.
Kozan said that the association's member companies can produce and supply all the items needed for a turnkey greenhouse project.
"Considering the developments in the global markets, approximately 75% of our companies' sales are to foreign markets. We successfully represent our country's greenhouse industry in many markets such as Central Asia, Russia, Arab countries, Africa and the Middle East. We see Mexico and the Americas as target markets in the short and medium term, and aim to increase our trade volume with Russia and the Middle East in the long term."
Further noting that they conducted important meetings and established export connections with international companies at the Growtech Fair, which they have been following closely for years, Kozan said special importance is given to the event, which will be held in Türkiye this year.
"I think that this year's Growtech Fair will be the place where it will be decided that the projects will be implemented. In this organization, SERKONDER member companies will represent our country in global markets," he said.
Growtech, the world's largest greenhouse agriculture industry fair, opens its doors to its exhibitors and visitors for the 21st time on Nov. 23-26 at the Antalya Fair Center in the Turkish Mediterranean province.
According to the information given by the fair's director Engin Er, 600 exhibitors from more than 30 countries and over 60,000 visitors from more than 120 countries are expected within the framework of the event.
"We are very happy to contribute to Turkey's agricultural exports with our fair. The number of countries participating and visiting the fair is increasing gradually. There will be new participants from European countries, especially the Netherlands, France, Germany and Italy. Also, Jordan, India, Sri Lanka, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kazakhstan and the U.S. are among the important and new participants of this year," Er further noted.