Agriculture Cut flowers are a growth industry for Turkey By William Sellars February 14, 2025, 7:45 AM Unsplash+/Getty Turkey has more than 6,000 hectares devoted to cultivating flowers and plants, including extensive greenhouses 70m flowers exported in February Built on improved logistics Spreading to new markets February is the busiest month for Turkey’s cut flower exporters, as Valentine’s Day on the 14th of the month results in 70 million or more blooms being shipped to markets across the continent. Revenue of between $8 million and $10 million is expected, and with International Women’s Day following close behind on March 8, increased shipments at the end of February account for millions more blossoms. Of the 80 countries Turkish growers exported to last year, the Netherlands, the UK and Germany were the leading markets for cut flowers. The trade is built on improved logistics capacity and rapid delivery, a vital factor for such perishable products. This speed of delivery has given Turkey the edge on some other leading ornamental plant exporters, such as Kenya and Latin America, in particular with European markets. This has been helped by the expansion of national carrier Turkish Airlines, which now flies to more destinations globally than any other airline. Much of the industry is based in Turkey’s southern provinces, in particular Antalya on the Mediterranean, benefitting from the region’s mild winters. There are more than 6,000 hectares under cultivation, including extensive use of greenhouses to extend the growing season. The industry has been expanding as it recovers from a downturn at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, but growth has again slowed and exports only increased by 2 percent last year, according to İsmail Yılmaz, chair of the Turkish Ornamental Plants and Products Exporters’ Association. Yılmaz told AGBI that flower exports in 2024 were worth $141 million. “For 2025 we set an export target of $150 million, which takes into account worldwide economic problems as well as difficulties in our own country.” These domestic difficulties include rising employment and input costs and shortages of skilled labour, along with the relatively high value of the lira, which was held steady throughout 2024, reducing foreign currency earnings. All have combined to limit new investments in the industry, said Yılmaz. “Over the past two years, land under cultivation has not expanded much,” he said. “Under the present economic conditions, just maintaining the amount of land where we grow our products can be seen as a success on its own.” Credit and debit card use rises steeply in Turkey High costs push up Turkish inflation in January Turkey’s exports to US surge but tariffs are a threat Despite these issues, Yılmaz sees the longer-term prospects for the sector as positive. Turkish growers are branching out to new markets, including Asia, while also gaining traction closer to home. “There is increasing demand from Gulf countries, along with the Turkic Republics [Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey and Uzbekistan], with sales of outdoors ornamental plants dominating sales to these regions,” Yılmaz said.
