Strawberries produced in the 7.500 square meter strawberry greenhouse established in Mertoglu, a village in Sinop by the investor Yasin Gungor, are admired around the world. Strawberries, which are also sent to many provinces of Turkey, are generally exported to Middle Eastern countries.
Strawberries from the hydroponic greenhouse are exported mainly to Dubai, Bahrain, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, and Kyrgyzstan. Stating that the advantages of soilless strawberry production are better than normal strawberries, greenhouse supervisor Irfan Kumec said: "The biggest feature that distinguishes them from soil production is that it is grown in a cocopeat. It is the ground shell of a coconut. We encounter fewer diseases than we encounter in the soil because the water infiltration rate is easier, so we don't see any root rot in our greenhouse. There are 165,000 strawberry seedlings in the greenhouse, which has been in operation for three years. Our production is annually around 100 tons from 7.500 square meters. It is not possible for us to keep up with the excess demand and we are trying to catch up as much as possible and there are some domestic markets where we also send our products. Apart from Sinop, we also work with big chain patisseries in Istanbul, Kastamonu. This setup is only present in a few greenhouses in Turkey. It is fully equipped with everything, so our product quality is very high."
Bahar Kulsak, who is responsible for the strawberry harvest and maintenance in the greenhouse, said, "When we have orders on a daily basis, we harvest them and take care of the plants. According to the products' maturity, we can harvest up to 100-150 kilograms per day."
Source: Tokat Haber