Diego Castagnasso analyzes the rise of Turkish blueberries in this guest article. Castagnasso is a fresh produce and blueberry industry expert. Loud, opinionated, INFORMED! Diego writes DC’s B-Side’s newsletter as he speaks and speaks as he writes. You can subscribe, under your own peril, to his newsletter here or visit his less fun (for now) website Drip Consulting.

Turkish coffee is so big that…

“UNESCO’s recognition acknowledges Turkish coffee as a symbol of hospitality, identity, and shared heritage”

So, what does this have to do with blueberries?

Be patient I have just gotten out of the car after driving for 4 hours and I need to finish this before 23:30 so you can have it at 00:00 Monday 30th

Now to your question…

The Turkish people work hard to make their coffee a symbol of their culture and to have UNESCO recognize it as such.

Well, they are doing the same for their blueberries.

They are working hard to be on the list of the top blueberry producers and exporters.

Let’s take a look…

Turkiye Fresh Blueberry Imports By Partner | Conventional

Turkiye Fresh Blueberry Exports By Partner | Conventional

Blueberries are getting traction.

They are not only producing and exporting more but they are importing more.

Interesting finding, at least for me…

It seems they are re-exporting

If you look at the purple circles in the chart…

There is an exact match right before their export season, where imports and exports overlap.

I assume they are using their strategic position between the West and the East and doing what they have done best since before the Roman Empire… commerce.

Turkiye Fresh Blueberry Exports By History| Cultivated, Conventional

In April 2023 Blueberry Consulting published and article named “Türkiye would become one of the main suppliers of blueberries”

As I re-read the article, a question started hovering over my head like bees over flowers…

Would Europe be the right place to focus on as Turkish production grows?

Short answer… NO!

Why?

Because I think that June or July are already covered.

But they are already selling their fruit there…

Yes! That is true but take a look at the chart, they can sell those volumes with no problems to any big reseller in Europe.

Turkish peak export in June 2024 was 269 Mtons!!!!

I can name more than a couple of resellers… not Retailers,

NOT the Biedronkas or the Aldis of Europe…

Re-sellers that “move” those tons per week… yes per WEEK.

Don't get me wrong… there is, still, a lot of growing space but I would probably be making other plans and also taking advantage of the strategic geographical position.

Ah ! Ok… if you know so much, Where would you send the blues?

…What would your strategy be?

Interesting questions…

And I would say….

Schedule a call now while the price is still US$22/hour

But.. No! If you haven't done it, don't do it now.

I won't be scheduling calls until next year…

Have a GREAT Week!!!

AND…

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2025!!!!

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yes… is the same PS as last week… not everybody is like YOU and reads all the newsletters..

PS1: If you are into more esoteric things and you like Turkish Coffee you can always make a trip to Istanbul and have fortune-telling sessions (kahve falı) and ask what to do with the blues.

PS2: I Know that some of you pay close attention to data…

And you’ll notice something strange with the average curve export…

I took the last 5 years' information and made an average per month, with that, I don't get the exact volumes, but I have a better understanding of where the production peaks