President of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Producers Association, Kılıç: ‘45% of the product is wasted before reaching the consumers’ hands’

The President of the Eskişehir Fresh Vegetable and Fruit Producers Association, Yıldıran Kılıç, stated that the farmers in Eskişehir are satisfied with the tomato yield and mentioned that ’40-45% of vegetables and fruits go to waste before reaching the consumers.’ Tomato harvesting has started in Eskişehir. Ripe tomatoes are picked from the vines and brought to the market. Yıldıran Kılıç, the President of the Eskişehir Fresh Vegetable and Fruit Producers Association, expressed their happiness with the tomato yield and stated that they are pleased. Pointing out that 40% of vegetables are wasted for various reasons before reaching the consumer’s table, Kılıç emphasized that if these wastages are reduced, prices would further decrease. President Yıldıran Kılıç also noted that despite the waste, people in Eskişehir consume vegetables at a cheaper price compared to other cities.
President Yıldıran Kılıç on production and wastage said, ‘For about 10-15 days, we have been releasing the tomatoes we produced in the greenhouse to the market. In the coming days, if there are no issues in the first week of August, we will also start with the tomatoes in open fields. Production is going smoothly, we have no problems except for the recent rainfall and natural disasters due to global warming. Unfortunately, we have some issues with that, but other than that, there is no problem. Based on our own experience, we estimate that 40% to 45% of the produced items are wasted before reaching the consumer’s table. When you consider the waste in the chain stores, approximately 40-45% of the produced vegetables and fruits go to waste without reaching the consumers, which of course affects the producer financially.’
‘Cucumbers are sold for 20 lira, zucchinis for 15 lira, regular tomatoes for 15 lira, and pink tomatoes for 25 lira.’ Providing information about vegetable prices, President Kılıç continued, ‘When compared with other cities, Eskişehir is currently very fortunate in terms of being able to eat vegetables and fruits affordably. In the coming days, there will be a high cultivation of local tomatoes and pepper varieties, and we expect prices to decrease a bit more when they enter the market.’