ANTALYA, Türkiye

Türkiye exported some 80 million flowers to 35 countries, primarily the Netherlands and the UK, for International Women’s Day on March 8.

Greenhouses in the nation’s southwestern city of Antalya are seeing a flurry of activity due to intensive cut flower production for the occasion.

Cut flowers, which are fresh flowers often cut with the stem and leaf, are packaged in warehouses in Antalya to be sent around the world.

These flowers include carnations and hyacinths mainly.

Ismail Yilmaz, chair of the Ornamental Plants and Products Exporters’ Association, told Anadolu that the shipments for International Women’s Day are nearing completion, as the greenhouses prepare the last orders.

Yilmaz stated that the Turkish cut flower sector was more active this year compared to last year, with a 15% rise in orders.

“Last year, we exported $9 million worth of flowers for International Women’s Day, and this year we made a turnover of around $12 million,” he said.

“The Netherlands is our most important market, followed by the UK — we also made shipments to countries like Germany, Romania and Bulgaria, and even to Ukraine and Russia despite the war,” he added.

He noted that the European market ordered pastel-colored flowers for this year, but there were some significant orders for red and white flowers.

He mentioned that around 15,000 acres of land were used for cultivation in the sector, which provides jobs for 100,000 workers directly and 300,000 workers indirectly, while women make up 80% of the Turkish flower sector.

*Writing by Emir Yildirim in Istanbul