Turkey's fresh fruits, vegetables exports up 9.5 % in 2011

Turkey's fresh fruits and vegetables exports increased by 9.5 percent this year compared to 2010, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported on Friday. The exports increased from 2.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2010 to 2.3 billion dollars in 2011, Kemal Kacmaz, an official of the Turkish Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Exporters' Association, was quoted as saying. Kacmaz said the fruits and vegetables were exported to 96 countries in 2011 despite the global economic woes. Turkey's fruits and vegetables produce also registered an 11- percent increase in 2011, he added. Most of Turkey's exported fruits and vegetables, about 1.1 million tons (or 839 million U.S. dollars), are shipped to Russia, followed by Iraq, Germany, Ukraine and Bulgaria, the official said.