Importing Fresh Produce from Turkey

Delivery terms, shipping documents, cold chain parameters fixed at loading, MRL compliance by market, and what a complete quote request contains.

Importing fresh fruit and vegetables from Turkey comes down to four decisions, all fixed before the truck or container is loaded: who carries the goods from which point, which documents travel with the load, at what temperature the produce is cooled and carried, and which pesticide-residue rules apply at the destination. As a fresh fruit and vegetable trading company sourcing from a grower network across Turkey, we work through the same sequence with every buyer, whether the destination is Russia and the CIS, the Gulf, or the EU and the Balkans. This guide sets out that sequence in the order it is agreed, so that a first quote request already contains what is needed to answer it.

Choose the delivery term first

The delivery term, the Incoterms rule (a standard three-letter code such as EXW or DAP), determines where responsibility for transport, insurance, and customs clearance passes from seller to buyer, and it shapes every later step, from who books the vehicle to which party handles export clearance. We work on four terms, described in detail on our export page:

• EXW (Ex Works): the goods are handed over at our facility; the buyer takes on transport, insurance, and export customs clearance.
• FOB (Free On Board): we are responsible until the goods are loaded on the vessel at the agreed Turkish port; the buyer arranges sea freight and insurance from that point onward.
• CIF (Cost, Insurance & Freight): on top of FOB, we cover freight and insurance through to the destination port; import clearance remains with the buyer.
• DAP (Delivered At Place): we transport the goods to the buyer's specified destination, excluding import duty. The usual choice for refrigerated road deliveries to a buyer's warehouse.

The term chosen is stated on the commercial invoice, so it should be settled at the quote stage rather than after loading. Payment terms and any insurance cover beyond what the Incoterms rule requires are agreed per shipment during the same discussion.

Documents that travel with the load

Three documents accompany every export shipment, and all three are cross-checked against the physical cargo before it leaves:

• Phytosanitary certificate: the official document confirming the consignment was inspected for plant pests; issued by Turkey's plant protection authority for that consignment only.
• Commercial invoice: states the agreed Incoterms rule and the parties' details; it is the basis for import customs valuation on the buyer's side.
• Packing list: matches the declared weight and item count to the cargo exactly.

A certificate of origin can be arranged on request; whether it is needed depends on the destination country's import rules and on any preferential tariff the buyer intends to claim, so it should be named in the quote request. Any further document required by a specific market is agreed per shipment. Behind these documents sits a batch-level record: each batch is matched with its sourcing region and its shipment documents, which is what allows a consignment to be traced back to its source.

Cold chain: what is fixed at loading

The cold chain is decided at loading, not in transit. Produce is pre-cooled before it goes into the vehicle, and pre-cooling and carriage take place at -1 to 15°C depending on the product group; the transport-temperature range for each product is stated on its product page. Loading follows a fixed set of parameters:

• Palletization: 80×120 cm EUR or 100×120 cm ISO pallets, with corner boards and strapping, stacked in patterns that preserve airflow through the load.
• Refrigerated truck: roughly 20-22 tons, or 33 euro pallets, for road deliveries to Europe and the Balkans, Russia and the CIS, and overland Gulf routes.
• 40' reefer container: 20-23 pallets depending on product, with temperature logging, for sea shipments.
• Temperature data loggers: added to the load on request; the record is reported at delivery.

The transport mode itself is never fixed in advance: refrigerated road, sea reefer, air cargo, or a combination are weighed together on the basis of destination, the product's shelf life, and the delivery deadline. Our logistics page sets out the shipment standards in full.

Grading and pesticide-residue limits (MRL)

Two sets of rules apply to every load. Classification is destination-independent: products are graded Extra, Class I, or Class II under the UNECE and Codex Alimentarius marketing standards (the UN-backed grading rules most importing countries use), based on external appearance, uniformity, and defect tolerance, and the carton label states the packer's details, country of origin, class, and size code. A Class I mandarin is Class I in every market; see our quality control page for how sizing and grading are carried out.

Maximum residue levels (MRL), the legal ceiling on the pesticide residue a product may carry, work the opposite way: the same fruit can be compliant for one market and not for another, and the point at which compliance is checked also varies. The EU keeps two lists of Turkish-origin products. Products on the first list are sampled at the EU border on arrival. Products on the second list must leave Turkey with an official certificate and a laboratory analysis. Both lists are reviewed regularly and change. Other markets apply their own limits. Because the requirement depends on the product-market pair, the target country should be named in the quote request so that the right documentation is planned. Our grower partners are asked to share their agricultural application records (spray records), and our MRL compliance guide covers the current EU position by product.

What a complete quote request contains

A quote request that contains the following can be answered in one round, and our team typically responds within 1 business day:

• Product and variety, with the required class and caliber range where known.
• Target country — it determines the MRL documentation and the likely transport mode.
• Quantity in pallets, tons, or containers. Road shipments start from one pallet per product within a mixed load; sea shipments are planned on a full 40' reefer container basis.
• Delivery date or delivery window, checked against the harvest calendar for that product.
• Incoterms rule (EXW, FOB, CIF, or DAP) and, for FOB and CIF, the destination port.
• Packaging and labeling requirements, including private label where required.

With these details, the reply can cover packaging, caliber, and loading date in the same message. Missing items — most often the Incoterms rule and the destination port — are what turn a one-day quote into a longer exchange.

Our quality and food safety management systems are certified to ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 22000:2018 by an independent certification body, and the scope of ISO 22000:2018 extends to the transport and storage steps described above. To start, send your product, target country, quantity, delivery date, and delivery term through our contact and quote form; we will confirm the loading plan and the documents with you before the first pallet is loaded.

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