Aksun installs new sorting line for figs and plans to open new packhouse

In 2018 Aksun opened largest Citrus packhouse in Turkey, with closed area 23 800 sq. m., storage capacity for 25 000 tons, 4 fast cooling rooms, 14 cold rooms, 10 netting machines and 3 electronic grading machines. Akın Söyleyen, Marketing Manager from Aksun comments that “New packhouse benefited the company in various ways, we saw a 45% increase in our customer satisfaction for our produce which is the key to progress further in Citrus business. Once we have the confidence of the customers; the demand for the produce will follow.”

“2019/2020 season has been a big success for us apart from the lemons which had a supply drop at the beginning of the season. We filled that gap with our Grapefruits with success which we are currently still packing. The grapefruit supply was really good hence we were able to prolong the season up until this point without any problems. For pomegranates we managed to increase our export volume by 23% compared to last year. Thanks to our new packhouse we are now able to store in modified atmosphere (MA) conditions giving us a big advantage to prolong the pomegranate season,” – explains Akın.

Mr. Söyleyen shares that the company plans to install new fig line. “With this new line we are looking to increase our capacity for figs by 30%, while increasing the quality of our produce. One of the key things we found out with the demand of figs is that the color selection is very important; with that in mind the new line will be able to sort the fruit not only by weight or dimension but also by color. This will give us an upper hand, while shipping the product to various markets”.

Aksun initially planned to open doors of their new packhouse for figs in Bursa region this summer, but due to unforeseen Covid-19 Virus effects, had to postpone this investment. “If the worldwide economy does not take a big hit ; we will open the doors of this new packhouse by the beginning of the fig season in 2021,” – says Akın. “The new packhouse location will be very strategic, as the figs are gathered from various villages around Bursa region. It is very important to choose a strategic location to reduce our logistic cost which is a major part of our variable costs. Apart from that Bursa is now very close to Istanbul which now has one of the largest airport in the world and became a big hub for airliners. Since Figs are exported to different continents by air, we will be able to provide them freshly picked figs with a lead time of 24hrs.

About Aksun

AKSUN Tarımsal Ürünler A.Ş exports fresh fruit and vegetable since 1989. The company is a member of Akincigil Group of Companies. Aksun supplies more than 24 different products in a wide selection of packages, from 250 g small packing units up to 1 ton jumbos. The company works with supermarkets and retail chains worldwide.

For further information about Aksun, please see company’s website