In İzmir, one of the production centers of gherkin, which is important with its share in pickle exports, the first results were satisfactory in the greenhouse production, which was tried to increase the amount of product purchased per decare.

Of the 194 thousand tons of gherkins produced in Turkey last year, 37 thousand tons and 19 percent were produced in Izmir. With this production amount, İzmir ranked second after Afyonkarahisar.

Work has been started to increase the yield of this product, which is used extensively in pickle production. Gherkin seedlings were planted in a 500-decare greenhouse in the Menderes district of İzmir in order to extend the production, which is generally carried out in the open field in April-August, to a longer period of time by being less affected by weather conditions, and to increase the amount of product obtained per decare.

The harvest, which started with the growth of seedlings planted in the region at the end of March, continues intensively. Producers entering the greenhouses early in the morning collect products despite the temperature exceeding 50 degrees under the cover. Small stature of gherkins classified according to their height are considered top quality.

"All products are for export"

İzmir Agriculture and Forestry Manager Mustafa Özen said that İzmir has a serious potential in vegetable production. Explaining that there is approximately 1 million 700 thousand tons of open area and 160 thousand tons of covered production in the city, Özen stated that gherkins are grown on 16 thousand decares.

Noting that Menderes is an important district in greenhouse production, Özen said: "We have a serious expectation in terms of both the market and production efficiency. Things are going well. We expect a production of around 10-15 tons per acre. This means a total of 5 to 7.5 tons production. We started with contract production at the point of marketing. One of our companies purchases contracted products between 3.5 and 7.5 liras per kilogram, depending on the size and proportion of the product, with approximately 130 manufacturers. All of these products are for export. Especially in Europe and we have a significant market share in the Turkish republics region."

Pointing out that the pickle factories were able to increase their production from only 4 months to 12 months with the spread of greenhouse production throughout the year, Özen stated that the added value obtained from the product also increased. Özen said, “There is a difference of at least 3-5 times in terms of yield between the gherkins or any product being in the open area and being under cover. We get 10-15 tons of the product that we can get only 3-5 tons per acre in the open field by growing the gherkin under cover, and we spread the production to 12 months.

 "Manufacturers are satisfied with the price"

Producing gherkins in a 3-decare greenhouse in Menderes, Adem Kölenen said that he has been growing gherkins since 2000 and is satisfied with the financial return.

Explaining that the yield increased under the cover, Kölemek said that the seedlings were given to the producer by the company that will receive the product, within the scope of contracted production.

Kölemek said that the first quality gherkin was sold for 7.5 liras per kilogram, "The producer is satisfied with the price. I recommend it to all producers." said.

- Increased interest in pickled gherkins

According to the data of Aegean Exporters' Associations, pickled gherkins share the top with pepper in the export of pickles. Turkey exported 309.1 million dollars of pickles last year. 137 million 694 thousand dollars of this export was provided by pepper and 137 million 455 thousand dollars by pickled gherkins.

In the January-July period of this year, interest in pickled gherkins increased. Exports amounted to 66 million 163 thousand dollars with an increase of 3.5 percent compared to the same period of the previous year.

The greatest interest in pickled gherkins was from Germany. Germany met 34 percent of the total pickle revenue with 22 million 576 thousand dollars of pickle purchase. 

Source: Anadolu Ajansı