Vous consultezChapter 14. Market strategies of the agro-food firms: the Turkish experience

AuteurAhmet Ali Koç du même auteur

The situation of agro-food firms in Turkey can be taken as a reference case for Mediterranean countries, and in particular for developing countries. Turkeyh’s significance is based on the size of its population (second largest after Egypt), the per capita income level (highest among non-EU members except Israel), and the country’s ranking in Mediterranean food product production and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow, including agro-food firms, particularly those in the downstream and midstream part of the value chain. Accumulated FDI inflow amounted to 83.6 billion USD in the 2002-2009 period, which is 1.8 and 5.8 times higher than FDI inflow to Egypt and Morocco respectively during the same period (SPO, 2011a). In recent years, accession negotiations with the EU have accelerated infrastructural and institutional changes in all sectors of the economy, including the agro-food sector and, as a result, the environment for agrofood firms has changed considerably. All of these developments have opened up new opportunities but have also brought threats for agro-food firms. The case of Turkey could thus provide lessons for other agro-food firms and stakeholders in the Mediterranean countries.

2 Turkey has been one of the major producers of typical Mediterranean agro-food products. It is the world’s biggest producer of hazelnuts and apricots, the second largest producer of cucumbers, pistachios, watermelons, figs, lentils and chestnuts, and the third most important producer of chick peas, walnuts and olives (OECD, 2011). The EU Member States were the major destination of Turkish Mediterranean exports until the 1990s; since then, new destinations have emerged in the case of fresh produce such as the Russian Federation, the Central and Eastern European countries and the Baltic countries, and the ranking of export destinations has changed accordingly. Besides these countries, Iraq has become an important market in the last few years. Iraq and the Russian Federation are the first and third destination respectively for agro-food exports to single countries (OECD, 2011).

3 Agro-food firms are usually those which process agricultural commodities, and normally national official statistics only consider these firms. However, agro-food firms dealing in agricultural commodities should also be considered, since they carry out numerous industrial treatments after the harvest and before the commodities reach consumers. Since agro-food firms are in the middle of the agro-food supply chain they depend on agricultural production but also on the distribution systems and in the last analysis on consumers’ decisions.

4 The situation on the agro-food market, market trends and corporate restructuring in Turkey reveal typical situations of both developed and developing countries in the Mediterranean basin. The existence of multinational firms in both food processing (Danone-Tikvesli, Unilever, Kraft, etc.) and the retail sector (Tesco, Metro and Carrefour, etc.), the recent food quality and safety norms based on the EU regulations, and the growing consumer purchasing power and rising level of education can be regarded as main drivers enhancing convergence with situations in developed countries. On the other hand, many developing characteristics such as low consumer demand for quality and safe products, a weak quality assurance and inspection system on the domestic market, and the size of the rural population still allow many local agro-food operators to participate in the food chain, particularly in small rural areas and towns, and to supply goods to lower socio-economic groups in large cities. All of these characteristics play an essential role as regards the kind of products that the agro-food industry produces.

5 This chapter is organised as follows: the main features of food consumers and the agrofood sector are first presented in order to illustrate the environment where agro-food firms have to work; then, market opportunities for agro-food firms in the Mediterranean basin are studied on the basis of case studies of typical Mediterranean products including wine, olive oil and citrus.

Main agro-food indicators

6 The population of Turkey reached 74 millions in 2010 with an annual growth rate of around 1.15% over the last decade. The older population (over 64 years of age) and the young population (under 15 years of age) accounted for 7% and 26% respectively in 2008 (SPO, 2011a), clearly indicating the great increase in food consumption the country will have to cope with in the future – a typical characteristic of a developing country. Just under 30% of the population was living in rural areas in April 2011, and the share of the agricultural sector in total employment was around 25% (TURKSTAT, 2011a), meaning that, despite its rapid development Turkey, still has features of the developing world.

7 The purchasing power of Turkish consumers has increased considerably since the 1980s, and in particular in the course of the last decade. Per capita income, in USD, increased from 2,040 in 1980 to 10,080 in 2010 (SPO, 2011b) with marked impact not only on the amount of food purchased but also on the type of products consumed. Per capita income has increased approximately fivefold during the last three decades while the total population has increased by 165%. This is another sign of the wealth generated in this country, which can be regarded as a middle-income country. According to the TURKSTAT “Household Budget Survey” data, food and non-alcoholic beverage expenditure accounted for 27% and 22% of total household expenditure in 2002 and 2010 respectively (TURKSTAT, 2011b), following a natural trend closely related to economic development with figures in between those of developing and developed countries.

8 In addition to the significance of agricultural employment and the household food expenditure budget, the agro-food sector in Turkey is also important in terms of employment in the food-manufacturing sector, exchange earnings and GDP share. The share of agro-food products in total exports and imports reached 12% and 5% respectively in 2010. In the 2008-2010 period, agro-food exports fell, on average, 43% for fruit and vegetables and 12% for cereals and/or cereal products (SPO, 2011b). During the same period, imports were composed of cereals and cereal products (17%) and oilseeds and oleaginous fruits (13.5%). This indicates the strength of fruit and vegetables as typical Mediterranean products but also the role that cereals and cereal products play in both imports (unprocessed) and exports (processed).

9 Food processing has developed rapidly since the mid 1990s, and its share in agro-food exports increased from 33% in 1996 to around 50% in 2008, becoming one of the major driving forces in the export economy. In contrast to this trend in agro-food exports, the share of processed food imports in total agro-food imports dropped from 50% in 1996 to 35% in 2010. At the same time, there was a rapid increase in many other imports. Taken as a whole, these trends are another sign of a country which is approaching the patterns of the developed world.

10 During the three years from 2008 to 2010, the food manufacturing sector employed on average 11.5% of the total manufacturing sector (ISO, 2011a). In 2008, there were 34,781 food and beverage manufacturing enterprises (466 for beverages) and total employment amounted to 328,653 people (10,940 of whom were employed in the beverage industry) (TGDF, 2011).

11 It is important to emphasise that there were 20,857 “bread and bakery product” manufacturers accounting for 61% of the total number of enterprises. Firms producing cereals, starch and starch products accounted for 12 % of the number of firms. Crackers, biscuits and durable pastry product makers made up another 10%. Firms preserving and processing fruit and vegetables and firms manufacturing dairy products accounted for 4% and 3.7% of the total respectively.

12 However, in terms of turnover, firms preserving and processing fruit and vegetables, those manufacturing dairy products and those producing cereals, starch and starch products contributed 16%, 13.5%, and 13% of the total turnover respectively. Firms producing and preserving meat and meat products and those manufacturing cocoa, chocolate and sweeteners accounted for 10% and 8% of total turnover respectively. These five groups together accounted for 78% of total turnover in the food-processing sector in 2008.

13 Remarkable restructuring measures have been underway in the Turkish agro-food sector over the last decade. The globalisation of food manufacturers and food retailers, the economic crises in 2001 and 2008-2009 and food legislation amended to comply with the EU regulations have encouraged a restructuring process bringing accelerated consolidation through mergers and takeovers. Table 1 gives an overview of the major food and beverage firms and their ranking among all Turkish firms. Firms dedicated to typical Mediterranean products such as fruit and vegetables and olive oil do not hold prominent positions. FDI has also been gaining momentum since 2004. There were 208 firms with foreign capital in food manufacturing in 2004 and 467 in 2010 (TGDF, 2011).

14 According to the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, there were 49 food and beverage companies within the first 500 largest firms in 2010 (ISO, 2011b). For further information, the main characteristics of several major firms are described in Annex 1 (end of the chapter). Multinational agro-food firms have entered the midstream and downstream segments of the food supply chain, particularly during last decade. For instance, Unilever, Danone-Tikvesli, Nestle, Frito Lay and Cargill are in the midstream sector of the food supply chain and Metro, Tesco, Carrefour, and DiaSA are in the downstream sector. Annex 1 sets out further details on the restructuring and consolidation of the Turkish food and beverage manufacturing industry.

15 Several common characteristics can be pointed out, such as the investment path that multinationals commonly follow from acquiring a share in national companies to taking complete control, the industrial diversification of many firms, the complexity of industrial processes and products, the increase in the number of joint ventures, the lack of involvement of the major multinationals in typical Mediterranean products and a clear trend of the largest firms towards introducing advanced food-processing such as readymade meals, frozen products, etc., the increasing involvement of farmers through contracting and the wide range of distribution systems. Many developing countries around the Mediterranean basin will be incorporating all of these features, which are also common in developed countries.

16 Other restructuring measures in the agro-food markets have been observed, such as: 1) emergence of food conglomerates, 2) vertical integrations, 3) retailers’ use of their own brands – so-called private labels, 4) consolidation, 5) diversification of retail formats and 6) increasing quality competition amongst retailers in the fresh produce sector (GlobalGAP certificate, organic foods, local products, etc.).

Table 1 - The largest food and beverage firms in Turkey (2010, turnover in million TL)

Source: ISO (2011b).

Market opportunities for agro-food firms in the Mediterranean area

17 In this section market opportunities for agro-food firms are evaluated on the basis of the market situation of selected industries regarding typical Mediterranean products. Two of them are able to transform raw materials and to place food products on the market such as wine and olive oil. There is another example, the citrus industry, which is mainly based on fresh products. However it involves great investments in conservation, logistics and packaging. Furthermore, these fruits are the main export products for countries in the Mediterranean area. Explanations about the supply chains are also provided in order to give a full picture of agro-food firms’ capabilities.

Wine

18 The latest data indicate that wine production in Turkey amounted to approximately 58 million litres in 2010 (TAPDK, 2011). In the same year, exports and imports were 2.2 and 1.5 million litres respectively, implying that, although on a small scale, this country has been able to have a similar inflow and outflow trade. According to a report published by the producer organisation and also by the State Planning Organisation (SPO, 2007), not all production is officially registered, although stringent inspections and new regulations introduced in recent years have increased the total registered output from 26 million litres in 2005 to the current figures.

19 The 2008 output statistics of 92 wine-making enterprises show that 64% of the total production was concentrated on the four largest firms, and the eight largest firms accounted for 73.5% of the production (TURKSTAT, 2010). The first concentration rate is particularly important – it shows that production is highly concentrated on the four largest firms. There were 7 firms employing 20 workers and over in 2005 and 17 such firms in 2009 (TURKSTAT, 2011c). The figures show that the largest firms expanded considerably in such a short period.

20 According to the Regulation Authority (TAPKD) data, there are only three firms with an annual production capacity of over 10 million litres, and one firm with a capacity of 5 million litres. These four firms are Mey (brand name Kayra), Kavaklıdere, Doluca and Yazgan. They have an annual production capacity of 30, 18, 14 and 5 million litres respectively. There are another nine firms with an annual production capacity of between 3.5 and 1 million litres. The total annual output of these nine companies is approximately 19.5 million litres (Koç et al., 2008). The three largest firms together hold the following shares of the various wine market segments: cheap 9%, basic 29%, popular 60%, upper 80%, premium 81%, champagne 67% and imported wine 22% – figures which illustrate their considerable influence in the most expensive segments. In 2009, the three main companies held a market share of 35%. Of the total volume of wine marketed, 72% is sold in the Marmara region, 12% in the province of Antalya and 9% in the province of Izmir. The tourist sector accounts for 15% of total wine consumption (United Anatolia Wine Producer Platform, 2009).

21 The potential demand for wine is higher than actual consumption if we look at the alcoholic beverages market trend. In terms of volume, beer is the leading alcoholic beverage in Turkey. According to the Market Regulatory Authority’s figures for production, import and export, beer consumption increased from approximately 451 million litres in 2003 to 814 million litres in 2010 – an increase of about 80% (TAPDK, 2011). The same data source shows that in the period from 2005 to 2010 domestic wine and rakı consumption increased by 240% and 146% respectively. These trends can be regarded as an indication of the rapid growth in the consumption of both wine and beer and the departure from the traditional beverage rakı, which has high alcohol content.

22 The market strategies of small wine makers have focused on product quality, and many of them are local actors. The SMEs in the sector are organised under the “United Anatolia Wine Producer Platform”. Many firms are integrated vertically and they have their own vineyards and establish plants and boutiques in several big cities. The second largest wine maker Kavaklıdere, for instance, has 550 hectares of vineyards in six different locations and three plants in various locations. The well-known brand wines Doluca, Sevilen, Turasan, Kocabağ, Vinkara and Likya use grapes from their own vineyards. The main marketing channels used by the largest firms are retailers (both modern and traditional), hotels and restaurants. They enjoy strong brand loyalty on the domestic market.

23 Wine production could be regarded as an infant industry trying to cope with internal market needs but also able to export, and in both cases it is rapidly adapting to new circumstances as it also has to compete with imported wines with different characteristics. In the last few years the wine industry has followed an interesting course towards consolidation and market positioning. The biggest firms have recognised brands, and although they do not sell a large volume they use all distribution channels, small firms clearly specialising on local markets.

24 This shows that a Mediterranean developing country can have a relatively new competitive industry that can promote sales on the domestic market as well as having a presence on large international markets. The industry could well expand given the increasing numbers of tourists but also with regard to recent consumer trends, which show that they prefer to drink wine instead of typical spirits with high alcohol content. The price also plays an important role in accelerating wine consumption. However, in terms of table wine, the wine/beer price ratio is much higher in Turkey than in France, Spain and Italy. Furthermore, since 2003, that ratio has developed to the advantage of beer due to changes in policy concerning excise duties, (specific) tax and special consumption taxes (advalorem tax).

Olive Oil

25 Olive and olive oil production has increased rapidly in Turkey in the last decade. In 2010 there were 111.4 million fruit-bearing olive trees and 45.8 million non-fruit-bearing olive trees. The area under olive trees amounted to 826,000 hectares in 2010 (TURKSTAT, 2011d). Taking the “direct payment support data” of the Farm Registry System (FRS) of Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock as a basis, approximately 200,000 olive growers with an average orchard size of 2.1 hectares obtained direct payment support in the 2007-2008 marketing year (Ministry of Industry and Commerce, 2010).

26 According to the direct payment support data, the land under olive orchards amounted to 420,500 hectares, with a total of 657,000 parcels. We can conclude from this data that the average parcel for a grower was composed of 3.3 pieces, which can be considered very fragmented in addition to being small and to the lack of any reasonable possibility to produce oil independently or to enhance producers’ organisations by forming cooperatives or adopting other forms of collaboration. The annual olive output was about 1.4 million tonnes, on average, during the 2008-2010 period (TURKSTAT, 2011d). Olives used for olive oil production accounted for around 68% of output in the same period. From 2000-2001 to 2009-2010, the annual average olive oil output was around 123,000 tonnes. In the period from 2005 to 2009, olive oil exports amounted to 47,200 tonnes, but the figures varied widely from one year to another. Export value was 162.6 million USD on average during the same period. The main destinations of olive oil exports were the US, Italy, Canada, Japan and Saudi Arabia with a mixture of distant and nearby markets (Ministry of Industry and Commerce, 2010). The significance of the US market must be underlined, since it imported 26% of Turkey’s total olive exports in 2009, followed by Italy with 18%. Annual olive oil consumption on the domestic market amounted to 93,000 tonnes on average over the last three marketing years, from 2007-2008 to 2009-2010. Although total consumption has increased in absolute terms, per capita consumption is still very low compared to major olive-oil-producing Mediterranean countries such as Italy, Spain, Greece and Tunisia. The current consumption level and recent trends show signs that per capita consumption will continue to increase in the future as a result of income growth and consumer health awareness.

Table 2 - Major players on the olive oil market in Turkey (2010)

Source: Compiled by author from firms’ webpage, firms’ CEO press conferences and explanations.

27 According to recent data, there were 252 olive oil processing enterprises registered with the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock in 2008. The Ministry issued a total of 1,014 olive oil production permits the same year (Ministry of Industry and Commerce, 2010). Although there are many processors in the industry, a few firms are dominant players in the packaged olive oil market. The majority of processors are small and operate on local or regional markets. Only 15 of them had 20 or more employees in 2009, for example, producing approximately 24,000 tonnes of olive oil that year (TURKSTAT, 2011d).

28 Ana Gıda is the major player in the sector with well-known brands such as Komili, Kırlangıç and Madra. Ana Gıda has a 35% share in the domestic olive oil market and its Komili brand has a share of 28%. Apart from cooperatives, other major players in the market are Kristal, Ekiz, Verde, Keskinoğlu and the new entrant Yudum. The Komili, Kristal, Tariş (cooperative union), Ekiz and Verde market shares were 28%, 19%, 17%, 16% and 11% respectively in 2009, covering practically the entire market (Ekiz, 2010). The names of the leading firms working in the packaged olive market are shown in Table 2. Tariş and Marmarabirlik are the only two agricultural unions of cooperatives (unions) in the first eight undertakings:

• Tariş consists of 33 cooperatives gathering approximately 28,000s olive growers in the Aegean region. This organisation accounts for 17% of the domestic market and 20% of exports in 2010. It can be regarded as a main actor in the export market, and it uses its commercial brand (Ta-ze) on its consumer packaged goods. Ta-Ze was established in 2001 by the Union of Tariş Olive and Olive Oil Co-operatives. Its products include olive oil, olives, gourmet products, olive oil soaps and personal care products. The company started as an intermediary for olive oil from local producers, operating through a wide network of dealers and chain stores. It sells abroad at stores in Chicago, Toronto and Singapore as well as in many food retailer departments in various cities in the world. Tariş products are produced and packed in Turkey, and its plants have been covered by the International Olive Oil Council’s quality control programme since 2002. Tariş olive oil is also unique in Turkey as it is the only Turkish brand that is accredited by the international authority (Tariş, 2011).
  
• Marmarabirlik is an union of agricultural sales cooperatives, which was established in 1954 by the olive growers in the Marmara region. Currently, the union consists of 8 member cooperatives with a total membership of 29,653. The union purchases and processes approximately 40%-45% of the edible black olives grown in the region and sells its products throughout the country, with 78 intermediaries in 58 cities. It signs contracts with retailers located in Germany, Denmark, Switzerland and Bulgaria to sell on the European market as well as in Canada and Australia. Marmarabirlik establishments have a total area of 403,000 square metres. It is a large industrial establishment, which provides added value with a olive-packing capacity of approximately 150 tonnes/day and an olive oil production and bottling capacity of 220 tonnes/day in its modern plants (Marmarabirlik, 2011).
  

There are also local brands of small-scale producers located in olive-growing regions. In the Ayvalık region, for instance, there are 26 firms (including Kırlangıç) and 18 of them (including Yudum) were using Ayvalık GIs (PDO) in 2010 (Ayvalık Chamber of Commerce, 2011). These local firms either sell through their own shops (boutiques) located in Ayvalık or through the Internet or use both systems. Some companies supply chain stores and sell their products under private (distributor) labels. There are some small-scale ones that process olives from their own orchards. Small and medium-sized processors use distribution channels to market their products either to local boutique shops and/or on the Internet. Organic production and processing methods based on local tradition have also been emerging as a main marketing instrument in addition to price competition.

29 Although this industry already has a high olive output, given the number of non-fruit-bearing olive trees and the low per capita consumption rate it still has great olive oil potential. As is typical of other Mediterranean countries, the average orchard acreage is too small to produce olive oil independently, so cooperative arrangements or vertical integrations should be established to gain efficiency.

30 Olive oil producers try to reach the national market through many different distribution channels, and with their competitive quality products they have been able to enter the markets of various European countries and in many other parts of the world, particularly in the United States. However, output varies considerably from one year to the next, and producers may be unable to provide homogeneous and regular quality.

31 Very few firms are large, but the biggest brands have a very large market share. The cooperative movement, with Tariş and Marmarabirlik, is significant and has sufficient capacity to have a good share in the domestic market and presence in other countries. Consequently, this industry can be considered a promising segment of the Turkish agrofood sector as a whole and proof that great efforts have been made to transform its structure and to provide attractive products on the market.

Citrus

32 Turkey is a major citrus producer in the Mediterranean Basin, after Spain and Italy. Turkish citrus output is about one-third of the total EU citrus output (an average of 10.9 million tonnes in the 2005-2009 period), which amounts to around 60% of the Spanish output and is similar to the Italian one (FAOSTAT, 2011). All kinds of citrus production have been increasing in Turkey over the last two decades. Citrus production has increased from around 1.45 million tonnes in the late 1980s to 3.6 million tonnes in 2010. It is the first major producer of lemons and grapefruit and the third major producer of oranges and easy peelers (mandarin oranges, tangerines, etc.), after Spain and Italy. Oranges, mandarins, lemons and grapefruit accounted for 48%, 24%, 22% and 6% of the 2009-2010 average citrus output respectively. Non-fruit-bearing citrus plant inventory data accounted for approximately 17% of the total fruit-bearing citrus inventory in 2010. These inventory data indicate that citrus production will continue to increase in the near future following the growth rate achieved in recent years (TURKSTAT, 2011d). Orange output has been increasing in Turkey for decades, from around 680 tonnes in the early 1980s to 1.7 million tonnes in 2010. The growth in output has been similar and ever higher for other citrus.

33 Historically, Turkey has been a net citrus exporter and oranges constitute a major part of its imports. Its citrus imports have been increasing since the mid-1990s. On average, the country imported 44,000 tonnes of oranges, 8,100 tonnes of citrus fruit juices and 13,400 tonnes of other fresh citrus in the 2004-2008 period. During the same period, Turkey exported 182,000 tonnes of oranges per annum, achieving its highest ever export figure in 2009 with 266,000 tonnes (AKIB, 2011). While the annual average citrus exports amounted to slightly over 300,000 tonnes in the 1989-1993 period, the figure was 1,219,000 tonnes in 2010. The breakdown of citrus exports in 2010 shows 424,000 t lemons, 419,000 t mandarins, 221,000 t oranges and 155,000 t grapefruit, amounting to 35%, 34%, 18% and 13% of total citrus exports.

34 The bulk of these citrus exports was sent to the Russian Federation (32 %), Ukraine (14%), Iraq (14%), Saudi Arabia (7%) and Romania (7%) in 2010. The Russian Federation and Ukraine together accounted for approximately 45% of the oranges, 37% of the lemons, 37% of the mandarins and 57% of the grapefruit exported. Iraq accounted for 27% and 17% of the oranges and mandarins. And in the period from 2008 to 2010 the EU-27 accounted for an average of 50% of grapefruit, 30% of lemon, 16% of mandarin and 9% of orange exports.

35 Per capita domestic use of citrus, except for lemons and grapefruit, has considerably increased, since growth in exports has been lower than growth in production. Orange consumption increased from 849,000 tonnes in 2000-2001 to 1,351,000 tonnes in the 2009-2010 marketing year (TURKSTAT, 2011e). During the same period, the consumption of mandarins increased from 363,000 tonnes to 471,000 tonnes. Integration of the citrus supply chain is weak because there are numerous small producers, which are not organised in cooperatives or producer organisations. The actors in the midstream sector of the chain thus play an important role. There are several exporters who either export products from their own orchards, usually with GlobalGAP certification. The majority of exporters use intermediaries to assemble their products. Exporting firms carry their export citrus to their own packing houses and they send other types of products either to wholesale markets or to the processing industry. No data are available on storage and the capacities of the packing houses, but the author has observed that exporters in citrus-producing regions have been investing in new packaging houses or have been modernising existing infrastructures, and most of them have expanded their capacities over the last decade.

36 In 2007, a new initiative to promote citrus exports in foreign countries was set up (called Citrus Promotion Group – CPG). This initiative focuses on Turkish citrus promotion and other market development activities with funds coming from exports. So far, the CPG has launched promotional activities involving citrus advertising in the Russian Federation and Ukraine and is planning similar promotional activities in the Middle East and Central European countries.

37 In the downstream part of the supply chain, since 2005, 9 producer organisations with 1,027 members (called “Producers’ Union” in Turkey) have been acting together taking advantage of the Producers’ Union Act-5200 (Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, 2011), but their role in the supply chain is very weak. The cooperatives have not been particularly successful in the citrus sector. There has been a considerable government effort to support citrus exports through a marketing board in the past.

38 Marketing cooperatives such as Narkobirlik (Citrus Producers Cooperatives Union) were established and storage-packaging infrastructures were supported by the government in the 1970s. Recently, Antbirlik (former cotton agricultural sales cooperatives union in Antalya) has been involved in the citrus sector since cotton production has been virtually disappearing and replaced with fruit orchards, with special emphasis on oranges. In recent years, this cooperative invested in a packaging house with cold storage and started to play a role in the Antalya regional citrus market. The small size of farms, limited product diversification and quality/safety standards have been major issues on the supply side. However, based on the 2002-2006 annual average, approximately 80% of the orange quantity exported was composed of Washington Navel varieties, and 90% of the oranges were exported between November and March.

39 Similarly, Enterdonat and Lemas varieties accounted for 98% of lemon exports and 96% of the lemons were exported between September and March. Satsuma, Freumont, Minola and Nova varieties accounted for 46%, 20%, 13% and 7% of total mandarin exports, respectively, in the same period. Approximately 90% of the Satsuma exports were shipped between November and December and 90% of other mandarin varieties were exported between December and February. The Star Buy variety accounted for 77% of grapefruit exports in 2008 and 90% of those exports were shipped from October to March (Koç et al., 2009). Furthermore, 40% and 60% of subsidized agricultural credit has been used for the GlobalGAP production certification or organic agriculture, in recent years (Koç et al., 2009).

40 At the midstream level, there are currently 34 large companies processing fruit juice from citrus, but few of them are located in citrus-growing regions. Although juice consumption is very low, its growth rate has been remarkable in the last few years. However, the total volume of fruit used for fruit juice has increased from 433,000 tonnes in 2000 to 771,000 tonnes in 2008. The amount of oranges processed into juice has increased by approximately 300% – from 23,000 tonnes in 2000 to 64,000 tonnes in 2008 (Meyed, 2011). Total fruit juice and fruit juice/fruit-flavoured product consumption amounted to 776,000 tonnes in 2008, which was 164% more than in 2000. Fruit nectars constitute 66% of consumption, fruit juice 7%, and the remainder consists of fruit-flavoured drinks (Meyed, 2011). The latest figures indicate that per capita annual fruit juice consumption is around 0.8 litres.

41 Important investments have been undertaken in the fruit juice processing sector during the last five years in conjunction with economic and export growth. Recently, Cutrale from Brazil (world giant in citrus juice), Etap Tarım (a well-known fruit juice manufacturer) and Anadolu Group (major player in the beverage sector in Turkey) have established a joint venture under the name of Anadolu Etap and will expand fruit juice capacity including citrus (Anadoluetap, 2011). Other companies that have recently invested in expanding the production capacity of the fruit juice sector using the latest technology, equipment and appliances.

42 The citrus industry in Turkey can be regarded as a good example for Mediterranean countries which are trying to meet their own growing domestic demand as well as operating on international markets. Reaching the national market means diversifying production, taking opportunities in a variety of distribution channels and shifting slightly from fresh produce to fruit juices. Since a great deal of this development is concerned with storing, transporting and distributing products, they have to develop all of these industrial capacities in order to be successful.

43 One of the greatest difficulties is to find new markets, but Turkey has been able to capitalise on the economic growth of the Russian Federation as well as other neighbouring countries (specially East European countries). This does not mean that the Western European countries have been abandoned, but they present a more saturated market with fewer opportunities. This is why most promotional efforts have been dedicated to new emerging economies as well as to new products and advanced certification. Given the per capita citrus and orange juice consumption in developed Mediterranean countries and the recent consumption trend from concentrated juice to fresh juice, the processing industry in Turkey will be using an increasing quantity of citrus, and juice imports will also increase. Turkey has great potential for producing citrus fruits either for the fresh market or for juice production. Far-reaching structural changes can come about if all opportunities are used. The private and the public sectors must act together if Turkey is to be a main player in the Mediterranean area.

Conclusion

44 Turkey is undergoing dynamic transition and could serve as a reference for many other countries in the Mediterranean basin. Since the mid 1990s, its agro-food supply chains, including the agro-food industries, have been developing tremendously, and rapid globalisation, consolidation and modernisation have also been observed, particularly in the midstream and downstream segments of the value chain.

45 Although domestic production has increased considerably in many agro-food sectors including wine and citrus, Turkey has started to import food products and will be a major market for many of the items produced in Mediterranean countries including citrus, wine and even olive oil if the country’s recent economic growth continues. At the same time, this country has also been increasing its exports, especially to neighbouring countries. It is a good example for other Mediterranean countries.

46 The strategies of Turkish agro-food firms vary according to food product or food product category. For example, firms in the wine and olive oil industries have focused on vertical integration, product differentiation (place of origin and intrinsic attributes) and distribution – alternative marketing channels (boutiques, e-commerce and export market diversification). Although collective action is very weak at the upstream level of the citrus industry, activities to promote exports including the government inspection and coordination measures have played a significant role in the export field. As a result, there has been a considerable increase in Turkish citrus exports to the Balkan States and to Eastern and Central European countries such as the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Romania since the mid 1990s.

47 Recently, quality and safety have become important dimensions of food production, and citrus firms are gradually adopting such production systems. The scale of production systems, the fact that their adaptation to new standards such as GlobalGAP and organic agriculture in the fresh produce sector is very slow, and the weakness of collective action are major issues that need to be addressed. Despite these problems, the geographic situation of the country (proximity to export markets) and the diversity of its products are assets that enable agro-food firms to sustain export operations and aggressively increase their export output.

48 Furthermore, the weak foreign competition due to border measures and quality policy on the domestic market concerning fruit and vegetables also allows agro-food firms to dedicate the bulk of their efforts to the domestic market potential. There are also other examples including apple, cherry and tomato productions, where firms are integrated vertically from the production stage through to export, but they account for only small percentages of the total output of Mediterranean types of products. It can be said that further economic growth in Mediterranean countries will also create significant trade opportunities amongst the various countries for either fresh or processed agro-food products.

49 Although the trend on both the domestic and the foreign market is towards greater consumption of processed agro-food products, the agro-food industries are developing sophisticated systems to control post-harvest operations, storage, transport and distribution facilities, which are important segments of the agro-food supply chains as a whole.

Annexe

Annex 1

Characteristics of some of the most important food and beverage firms in Turkey (2009)

Source: Compiled by author from firms’ Web pages, CEO press conferences and explanations.

Bibliographie

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PLAN DE L'ARTICLE

• Main agro-food indicators
• Market opportunities for agro-food firms in the Mediterranean area
  • Wine
  • Olive Oil
  • Citrus
• Conclusion
• Characteristics of some of the most important food and beverage firms in Turkey (2009)
• Annexe

Ahmet Ali Koç « Chapter 14. Market strategies of the agro-food firms: the Turkish experience », in MediTERRA 2012 (english), Presses de Sciences Po, 2012, p. 283-303.
URL : www.cairn.info/mediterra-2012-english--9782724612486-page-283.htm.