About Citrus Promotion Group

Regarding 3,5 million ton production and an economic value of 1,5 billion USD, Turkish citrus sector is of vital importance for the population of 5 million people from Aegean and Mediterranean Regions who directly or indirectly earn their living by.

Considering the high competetive advantage (natural unique taste and finest quality) of Turkish Citrus Fruits, it is fair to understand that one third of citrus production is oriented to export.

Citrus Promotion Group was founded to increase not only the domestic but also the international consumption of our citrus products and also to optimize the usage of right marketing techniques as it becomes the national agenda.

Citrus Promotion Group aims to promote our products by implementing the trademark process and emphasizing "Turkish Product” image throghout the world.

It is accepted by the world that the vitamins and fibres which the citrus fruits contain, have positive effects on human health.

With the promotion campaigns we will hold in the future, we intend to emphasize these features to create a consumption habit in and out of Turkey. This will also help the purpose of creating "Turkish Product” image.

Citrus Promotion Group was founded to achieve above mentioned issues in November 2007 by the Undersecreteriat of Foreign Trade Directive numbered 120008151. The secreteriat of Citrus Promotion Group is run by General Secreteriat of Mediterranean Exporters Unions. Citrus Promotion Group Management Board is composed of 11 members (6 representatives from Mediterranean Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Exporters Union, 5 represantative from each West Mediterranean, Eagean, East Black Sea, İstanbul and Uludağ Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Exporter’s Union.)

Our Mission

Main purpose of the Citrus Promotion Group (CPG) is to increase domestic consumption and demand while promoting "Turkish Product” concept and completing the Branding process abroad. CPG by this way aims to constitute and maintain a stable price and competition ground by accelerating promotion and advertising campaigns.

Ali KAVAK

Citrus Promotion Group & Mediterranean Fresh Fruit & Vegetables Exporters’ Union Board Chairman

Citrus Promotion Group, in order to increase the foreign and local demand of citrus products, legalized by the Ministry of Economy in 2007. The main purpose of the Group is topromotethe image of Turkish Citrus Productsby informing positive effects on health, vitamin and fiber capacity of the Citrus Fruit and to create consumer habits to Turkish Products.The group also use media studies in order to achieve it’s aims.

For many years with both our manufacturers and citrus exporters, one of the biggest problem and maybe the biggest problem was to create a Turkish brand name that supports competition in international markets and emphasize the quality of our products.

Promotional activities performed in external and internal intense competitive markets by Citrus Promotion Group is so vital for our exporters and producers.Since 2007, aware of responsibility about enabling the promotion of coordination of the international market and boosting the consumption of Turkish Citrus to whole over the world, Citrus Promotion Group is trying to be a succesful model.

Citrus Promotion Group (NTG) launched publicity campaign with Tarkan in Russian Federation in 2010 and continued in Ukraine and Azerbaijan. The film met with great interest in the shown countries.In these countries billboards and buses were adorned with images of Turkish Citrus and also related advertisements were published in their national print media.

To gain comparative advantage in international markets, creating new products is of vital importance so Citrus Promotion Group supports Development Committee of Fresh Fruit and Citrus Exports products and it’s Project, establishment of Information citrus system project in Mersin, establishment of Information citrus system project in Adana, the projects of West Mediterranean Agricultural Research Institute related with development of new varieties of mandarin appropriate to export and Cukurova University Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Horticulture and Alata Horticultural Research’s Citrus Variety Improvement Project.

Citrus Fruit in Turkey

Turkey benefits of very good climatic and ecological conditions which enhance the potential for the production of many fruit and vegetable varieties, and particularly the citrus fruit cultivation, representing 2,5 % of total world citrus production.

80 % of Turkey’s citrus fruit is grown on the Mediterranean Coast, where the Mediterranean Exporter Unions is settled and therefore this region owns an important place in our country regarding fresh fruit and vegetable exportations. Citrus orchards dwell on approximately 80.000 hectares, the main places of production being

Mersin, Adana and Hatay in the region of Çukurova where 90 % of Turkish lemons, 99 % of Turkish grapefruit, 64 % of oranges and 61 % of mandarins are produced.

During these last 25 years, citrus cultivation has shown important developments and is expected to increase in the next years with a good development of the infrastructure (packinghouses, concentrated and tinned citrus plants, cold and frozen storage and terminal) as well as in transportation by sea, by air and by road.

Main citrus varieties produced in Turkey: During 2013 season, about 3.681.158 tons citrus fruit were produced, which ranks Turkey as one of the top citrus producers in the Mediterranean region. The breakdown by variety is as follows: easy peelers: 942.226 tons, orange: 1.781.258 tons, lemon: 726.283 tons, grapefruit: 228.799 tons.

For the same period, citrus exports rose to 1.371.699 tons, putting Turkey as the fifth bigger Mediterranean exporter country all over the World. Almost more than half of the production of easy peelers was exported (535.435 tons) and most grapefruits were also exported (141.081 tons). As for lemons and oranges, the export figures were respectively 413.821 tons and 281.317 tons.

Citrus Production Map of Turkey

CITRUS PROMOTION GROUP 2013 ACTIVITIES

PERIOD OF JANUARY-DECEMBER

FAIRS AND TRADE DELEGATIONS

DOMESTIC FAIRS AND FESTIVALS

16-17 November 2013 – MERSİN CITRUS FESTIVAL

The Citrus sector, of great importance for our region, met in November at the Citrus Festival which takes place in Mersin, the heart of Turkish citrus fruit. The stand of the Citrus Promotion Group, which took place in the Mezitli seashore at the Adnan Menderes Boulevard, was decorated with citrus fruit and offered orange juice to the visitors, informing them about the foundation, mission and activities of the CPG.

17 November 2013 – SEFERİHİSAR EASY PEELERS FESTİVAL

Citrus Promotion Group provided financial support as it usually does every year to «Seferihisar Easy Peelers Festival», held on November 17, 2013 to make the promotion of Satsuma mandarin, an important export product, appreciated by the consumers because of its quality and aroma, as well as the other citrus fruits.

INTERNATIONAL FAIRS AND TRADE DELEGATIONS

6-8 FEBRUARY 2013 – FRUIT LOGISTICA FAIR

Citrus Promotion Group participated with a stand of 119 m2 to FRUIT LOGISTICA, INTERNATIONAL FRESH PRODUCE TRADE SHOW, held in Berlin, Germany on 6-8 February 2013, under the umbrella of the Mediterranean Exporter Unions, which is responsible for the national participation to the fair. Among the duties assigned to the Citrus Promotion Group at the stand there was to inform the visitors about CPG and Turkish citrus production and export of the companies. Besides, brochures and leaflets about Turkish citrus exporters were distributed. Citrus promotion Group was widely advertised through billboards, airlines companies advertisement means and also fair advertising areas.

12-18 MAY 2013 SOUTH AFRICA RESEARCH VISIT

Turkish Citrus Promotion Group organized an investigation delegation composed of 25 people to South Africa between 12-18 May 2013 to investigate on-site the technology and points reached in matter of production trends, packing technology, export and scientific research in citrus sector. In the programme, a visit was made to the Fresh Produce Exporters Forum – FPEF, founded in 1998, with its headquarters in Cape Town, which is a voluntary, non-profit organization which providing leadership and services to its members, the international buying community and the fresh fruit export industry as a whole, having an active role in the framework of area

reform programmes, to the company Sundays River Citrus (SRCC), in the region of Simondium, which is a cooperative where local citrus producers, packing houses, producers and exporters work together, the company River Bioscience, founded by producers and exporters and the Citrus Research International, founded in order to increase in long term the global competitiveness of citrus growers in South Africa by developing, supporting, providing and coordinating research and technical services.

28-31 MAY 2013 IRAN INTERNATIONAL FOOD, BEVERAGES AND HOSPITALITY TRADE FAIR

Citrus Promotion Group participated with a stand to the fair “Iran Food & Hospitality « held on 28-31 May 2013 in Teheran in Iran.

“Iran Food & Hospitality Fair”, “Iran Agricultural Fair” and “Iran Food, Beverage & Packaging Technology Fair” were simultaneously held and it was be the occasion for the Turkish Promotion Group to give information about Turkish citrus production, export and companies, aiming a population of 66,4 million, one of the biggest population of the Middle East. Besides, brochures and leaflets about Turkish citrus exporters were distributed.

16-19 SEPTEMBER 2013 – WORLDFOOD MOSCOW FAIR

Turkish Promotion Group participated with a specially designed stand to “Worldfood Moscow” held in the Russian Federation, on 16-19 September 2013.

During the event, Turkish Promotion Group provided information to the companies about CPG and about Turkish citrus production and export. The stand also offered the possibility to the Turkish citrus exporters participating to the fair without a stand to make bilateral negotiations in a special meeting area.  

16-18 NOVEMBER 2013 - IRAK AGROFOOD FAIR

Turkish Promotion Group participated with a specially designed stand to “Iraq Agro-Food, the International Exhibition for Agriculture, Food, Food Processing and Packaging», held between 16-18 November 2013 .

Our stand was the centre of interest in the fair thanks to the visual details and as Turkish Promotion Group , the stand also offered the possibility to the Turkish citrus exporters participating to the fair without a stand to make bilateral negotiations in a special meeting area.  Besides, the catalogues and brochures of various companies were displayed and given to the people interested.

Moreover, a translation service was given to the exporters during the fair, with offer of fresh squeezed fruit juice and catering to the people coming to the meetings.

4-6 SEPTEMBER 2013 – ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA FAIR/ HONG KONG

Turkish Promotion Group participated to “Asia Fruit Logistica” Fair, held between 4-6 September 2013 in Hong Kong/ People’s Republic of China, with a stand of 9 m2.

PROMOTION CAMPAIGN IN 2013

Citrus Promotion Film: In the framework of the promotion campaign 2012-2013, CPG prepared a Citrus Promotion Film, filmed with the team of «The Magnificent Century» series, Hurrem Sultan and Kanuni Sultan Süleyman, approved by the Ministry of Economy and Turkish Exporters Assembly, to the target countries determined by CPG, i.e. Russian Federation, Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Iraq and Middle East countries. The promotion film was shown from 11 November 2013 to 15 December 2013 for a period of 5 weeks in the target countries and television channels.

Citrus Promotion Group prepared a successful Citrus Promotion Film with popular Turkish star Tarkan in 2010 in order to increase the market share in the international citrus market. This promotion film was so efficient in the target market that a considerable increase realized in citrus export that year.

PROJECTS SUPPORTED IN 2013

Citrus Export to Far East Project :In the framework of the Committee of Fresh Fruit Export Development to the Far East under the presidency of the Export General Directorate of the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Turkey, one of the projects supported by CPG, as part of the activities set up for the development of Turkish exports in Far East countries, is «the project of research of efficiency of cold applications on Mediterranean fruit fly eggs and larvae in the citrus fruit as a problem for Turkish citrus exports» carried out by the Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies Plant Protection Research Station of Bornova (UDTI), aiming particularly the fruit to be sent to the Far East markets.  

• Project of Developmnet of New Citrus Varieties: CPG also supported «Project of development of New Citrus Varieties» carried out by the Alata Horticultural Research Station, in order to find new citrus varieties in order to increase the competitiveness of Turkish citrus industry, to extend the period of the year where fresh citrus fruit can be found, with earlier and late varieties so to maintain the market share of Turkey citrus, to enter again the West European markets, as better and more stable import markets and to find new markets.

• Development of New Easy Peelers Varieties Project: CPG also supported the projects «Development of new easy peelers varieties suitable for exportation and gaining to the sector» and «Improvement of new mandarin varieties with very early / early and late ripening period via mutation breeding» developed by BATEM – West Mediterranean Agricultural Research Institute.

• Development of Citrus Varieties Project: CPG also supported the project «Development of citrus varieties» carried out by the Horticultural Section of the Agriculture Faculty of Çukurova University aiming the development of early lemon varieties, which represents about 35 per cent of Turkish citrus exports, as well as early and late and at the same time productive and especially seedless orange and easy peelers varieties, with big fruit and of high quality in order to extend the citrus availability throughout the year as the current varieties are mainly varieties of mid-season to increase the competitiveness of Turkey on world citrus markets. All the Projects will take 5 years from 2011 to 2016 to be completed.

• www.turkishcitrus.com ; Turkish Citrus B2B Project (Portal where CPG members can make online trade with foreign importers through internet), E-Mail Marketing (promotion twice a month by sending e-mails to potential citrus importers in target countries) and Google Advertisement (Specify the countries and the foreign languages chosen by CPG and then ensure that CPG web site is listed when citrus research is made by these countries and through the chosen foreign languages). These 3 portal projects are supported by CPG.

•  Citrus Data System: CPG has been supporting the studies concerning the elaboration of Citrus Data Systems. The aim is to create a dynamic citrus management model including environmental conditions like meteorological, soil and hydrology information as well as information about production such as the number of trees, varieties, age and productivity , which will provide a high resolution map of the citrus production areas, by using the last technologies in geographical information systems and remote sensing data. The Model, with these functions, aims at contributing to the development of right production and marketing policies at short and long term of the industry linked to the citrus production.

• Project 1: Creation of Citrus Data System (NARBIS) in the lower part of Adana, in the plain of Seyhan

• Project 2: Citrus Management Model : Pilot Area of Seyhan, lower part of Adana

• Project 3: Creation of Citrus Data System in the district of Hatay

• International Food R&D Market Project : CPG supported the International food R&D market project. We were the gold sponsor of the International Food R&D Market Project, whose organisation is made by the Aegean Exporter Union General Secretariat, which targets a food export figure of 55 billion dollars in 2023 by developing new production and technological methods, by strengthening the cooperation between universities-industrial sector, by contributing to the development of the food and agricultural sector.

• CLAM : The membership to the Mediterranean Countries Citrus Contact Committee (CLAM), founded in 1955 as an international professional organization in order to strengthen the individual activities of the Mediterranean citrus producer countries.

CITRUS PROMOTION GROUP 2014 ACTIVITIESPERIOD OF JANUARY-DECEMBER

FAIRS AND TRADE DELEGATIONS

DOMESTIC FAIRS AND FESTIVALS

15-16 November 2014 – MERSİN CITRUS FESTIVAL

The Citrus sector, of great importance for our region, came together at Mersin Citrus Festival held between 15 and 16 November 2014 in Mersin, the heart of Turkish citrus fruit. The stand of the Citrus Promotion Group, which took place in the Mezitli seashore at the Adnan Menderes Boulevard, was decorated with fresh citrus fruits and served fresh orange juice to the visitors, informing them about the foundation, mission and activities of the CPG. Thanks to its attractive stand, CPG became the centre of attention and interest just like every year.

15-16 November 2014 – SEFERİHİSAR EASY PEELERS FESTİVAL

Citrus Promotion Group provided financial support as it usually does every year to «Seferihisar Easy Peelers Festival», held on November 15-16, 2014 to make the promotion of Satsuma mandarin, an important export product, appreciated by the consumers because of its quality and aroma, as well as the other citrus fruits.

19-21 December 2014-DÖRTYOL/HATAY CITRUS FESTIVAL

Citrus Promotion Group participated with an attractive stand to Dörtyol Citrus Festival held between 19-21 December 2014 in Hatay which is an important centre for citrus production and export. Fresh orange juice was served to the visitors while informing them about the foundation, mission and activities of the CPG.

INTERNATIONAL FAIRS AND TRADE/STUDY DELEGATIONS

5-7 FEBRUARY 2014 – FRUIT LOGISTICA FAIR

Citrus Promotion Group participated with a stand of 119 m2 to FRUIT LOGISTICA, INTERNATIONAL FRESH PRODUCE TRADE SHOW, held in Berlin, Germany between 5-7 February 2014, under the umbrella of the Mediterranean Exporter Unions, which is responsible for the national participation to the fair. During the fair days, the officials at Citrus Promotion Group’s stand gave information about CPG and Turkish citrus production and export. Besides, brochures and leaflets about Turkish citrus exporters were distributed. Citrus promotion Group was widely advertised through billboards, airlines companies advertisement means and also fair advertising areas.

 

15-18 SEPTEMBER 2014 – WORLDFOOD MOSCOW

Turkish Promotion Group participated with a specially designed stand to “Worldfood Moscow” held in the Russian Federation, between 15-18 September 2014.

During the event, Turkish Promotion Group provided information to the companies about TPG and about Turkish citrus production and export. The stand offered the possibility to the Turkish citrus exporters participating to the fair without a stand to make bilateral negotiations in a special meeting area.  

 

 3-5 SEPTEMBER 2014 – ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA FAIR/ HONG KONG

Turkish Promotion Group participated to “Asia Fruit Logistica” Fair, held between 3-5 September 2014 in Hong Kong/ People’s Republic of China, with a stand of 9 m2.

31 AUGUST- 7 SEPTEMBER 2014 HONG KONG RESEARCH VISIT

Citrus Promotion Group organized an study visit to Hong Kong which is of the biggest reexport centers between 31 August and 7 September 2014 in order to evaluate the market opportunities on site.

PROMOTION CAMPAIGN OF CPG IN 2014

In September, October, November and December 2014, Turkish citrus sector was promoted to public of Russian Federation which is of the most important export market of Turkey, and an awareness on citrus products of Turkey was raised in accordance with the journalistic ethics and the press law and other laws of Russia, and with the reader/audience perception of the publications/broadcasts by media such as the newspapers Komsomolskaya Pravda, Kommersant, Teleprograma, Sovetskysport, the magazines Gastronom, OK!, Zdoroive, the internet websites kp.ru, zdr.ru, gastronom.ru, sovsport.ru, the television channels Russia 1 and NTV in Russia. This promotion campaign will be continued till April 2015 on the relevant newspapers, magazines, websites and TV channels.

PROJECTS SUPPORTED IN 2014

• CPG continued supporting UDTI project for the providing Far East markets with citrus products carried out by the Committee for the development of Fresh Fruit Exports to Far East Markets.

• CPG continued supporting the project «Development and gaining to the market of new easy peelers varieties suitable for export», conducted by BATEM –West Mediterranean Agricultural Research Station.

• CPG continued supporting the project «Development of citrus varieties» carried out by the Horticultural section of the Faculty of Agriculture of the Çukurova University.

• CPG continued supporting the project «Development of citrus varieties» carried out by the Alata Horticultural Research Institute .

• www.turkishcitrus.com ; Turkish Citrus B2B Project (Portal where CPG members can make online trade with foreign importers through internet), E-Mail Marketing (promotion twice a month by sending e-mails to potential citrus importers in target countries) and Google Advertisement (Specify the countries and the foreign languages chosen by CPG and then ensure that CPG web site is listed when citrus research is made by these countries and through the chosen foreign languages).

• It was foreseen to create a terminal in the port of Novorossisk, one of the ports found in the region of Krasnodar, known as the Russian South entry gate and main entry gate to Russia for fresh fruit and vegetable from Turkey, representing 21 per cent of Russian foreign trade, with a shipment capacity of 85,5 million tons, being the biggest harbour in Russia, in order to provide service to Turkish exporters of fresh fruit and vegetables selling product in this zone.

• CPG supported the studies concerning the creation of a Citrus Data System.

• It was foreseen to found the «Citrus Academy», which would perform different activities, projects and training in any sector concerning the citrus production and exportation. The aim of this academy would be to give a more efficient and effective services to the CPG, by creating and increasing the skilled labour force in the area of production and foreign trade, by enhancing the knowledge and experience of existing managers and workers of citrus exporter companies.