9 mln tons of fresh fruits and vegs wasted due to poor harvest, storage conditions: Association

ANKARA

AA photo

Around one-fifth of fresh fruits and vegetables harvested in Turkey are sent to the trash due to poor harvesting and storage conditions, said the Agriculturalists Association of Turkey (TZOB) in a written statement.

“Around 9 million tons of the annually-produced 45.7 million tons of fresh fruits and vegetables go to waste before being served as meals mainly due to inefficient production, harvesting conditions and poor storage systems,” said TZOB head Şemsi Bayraktar, as quoted by Anadolu Agency. 

Approximately 3 million tons of 36.6 million tons of grains produced annually are also sent to the garbage due to same problems, and such big losses are unacceptable, he said. 

In financial terms, Turkey losses around 11 billion Turkish Liras in rotted fruits and vegetables and 2.5 billion liras in discarded grains, he added. 

Bayraktar addressed the existing problems of many unqualified harvesting operators in the sector. 

“Harvesting machine owners need to hire only drivers who are qualified and have operating licenses… The operators should do their job when the soil is dry. Besides, different equipment needs to be used in different soil types,” he added.