25,000 m² Greenhouse Facility in Sakarya
The Company Producing Strawberries in a Smart Greenhouse in Ferizli Exports to the Middle East, Cambodia, South Africa, and Italy
A company that established a smart greenhouse in the Ferizli district of Sakarya is producing strawberries using soilless agriculture techniques and exporting its products not only domestically but also to various international markets such as the Middle East, Cambodia, South Africa, and Italy.
The company, which also builds smart greenhouse systems in several cities across Turkey and abroad, began strawberry cultivation last year by setting up a 25-decare (25,000 m²) greenhouse in Ferizli.
To achieve the best flavor, yield, and shelf life, the company planted approximately 600,000 plants from 14 different strawberry varieties. During trial runs, some varieties showed superior results.
The strawberries produced are exported both within Turkey and to a range of international destinations, including the Middle East, Cambodia, South Africa, and Italy.
"From now on, we’ll focus more on productivity"
Fatih Özavcı, General Manager of SBT Kurumsal Girişim A.Ş., told Anadolu Agency (AA) that as a company focused on international markets, they analyze the yield performance of various strawberry varieties based on the demands of different countries and aim to deliver and achieve results under the best conditions.
Strawberries Grown in Smart Greenhouses from Sakarya Reach the Middle East and Beyond
Özavcı explained that the smart greenhouse system meets many standards, including thermal screens, exhaust fans, circulation fans, LED lighting, heating, irrigation systems, automation, and a cold storage facility. He also noted that the facility holds five quality certificates, and because of this, they are striving to maintain high production standards to be able to export to any desired country.
Özavcı stated that since this year was a trial period, they focused more on customer demand than productivity when selecting varieties. He said:
"From now on, we will focus more on yield. We've seen that we export about 70% of our production. Our goal for next year is to produce strawberries of such high quality that we can export 90%."
Mainly Exporting to Middle Eastern Countries
Özavcı emphasized that while they mainly work with Middle Eastern countries, they also export to Cambodia, South Africa, and Italy.
"Countries such as Dubai, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and the Maldives are also requesting strawberries," he said.
He noted that they also deliver within Turkey, with merchants, markets, and patisseries in Istanbul purchasing their products. Özavcı added that local residents love their strawberries, and they distribute seedlings to them as well. Since they introduced varieties that were not previously available in the region, they believe they are contributing positively to the local area.
On the advantages of soilless agriculture, Özavcı said:
"The biggest benefit is that we can deliver all the nutritional elements in the solution directly to the plant in the best way, combining them naturally with light and heat. Since the quality in soilless farming is much higher, exporting is significantly easier. The strawberries produced through soilless agriculture in Turkey and globally currently exceed standard strawberry nutritional values. In other words, their aroma and nutritional content are superior to soil-grown strawberries. This is why soilless agriculture will always have an advantage. Also, since we can plant more densely compared to soil farming, we achieve higher yields."
Özavcı concluded by stating that their target production capacity is between 400 and 600 tons, and the exact achievement will become clear next year.
Source: Anadolu Agency
