Agricultural Engineer Ayfer Hiz started the production of blueberry in pots with soilless agriculture on an area of 25 decares in Antalya's Serik district 4 months ago, earning 12 USD per kg of the products.
The demand for blueberry cultivation in the Serik district is increasing day by day. Agricultural Engineer Ayfer Hiz, who started to produce blueberries, 4 months ago in a 25-decare area in the Sariaba District of the Serik district, puts on her boots and checks the growing products every day. Hiz said, "I see the plants as my daughters and say to them, "Let's not give up, girls," and carry out the right production with daily routine controls with love and care."
Hiz wants to have the wire skeleton system she uses in production to be considered as greenhouse blueberry production as she notes: "We have built a skeletal system here. We aim to protect our products from the damage of birds, hailstorms, and sun rays. If it is recognized officially as greenhouse production by the government and state authorities, then we will be able to benefit from state funding to increase our production.
Blueberries are usually imported from abroad, but now the demand for domestic production has increased, Hiz said, "Normally, blueberries came to Turkey from abroad, but in recent years the domestic production started to increase. As a result, during domestic harvest times, blueberry imports decline significantly as more consumers prefer more reasonably priced domestic blueberries. After the domestic products are sold out, then the imports start to intensity again. The market demand for blueberry is increasing day by day as it is used in many snacks and patisserie products. It is also used in the pharmaceutical industry. It is a rich fruit due to its antioxidant properties. There is more demand for fresh consumption rather than medicinal use. It is a very popular product in the pastry and food industry. We aim to produce 4 kilograms of product per pot. The blueberry fruit we produce is sold in retail markets in 125-gram packages for 1.5 USD per package. In other words, its price per kg is around 12 USD."
Source: Kamu3