Marmarabirlik's chairperson Refi Taviloglu told A.A on Monday that nearly 100,000 tons of "Gemlik black olives" were collected in the south of Turkey's Marmara region during 2007-2008 period.

Taviloglu said that Marmarabirlik purchased 30,767 tons of such amount and paid 73,741,000 YTL in return for the products.(1 USD equals 1.33 YTL)

Taviloglu also said that Marmarabirlik could only purchase 30-35 percent of the olives produced in the south of Marmara region due to processing, storing and marketing capacity.

Noting that Marmarabirlik promoted its products with 140 different packages, Taviloglu said the association sold olives to the "ethnic markets" in Europe, USA, Canada and Australia.

Marmarabirlik is the largest olive producer of Turkey and ranks among Turkey;s top 500 industrial businesses. With a storage and processing capacity of 79,000 tons (175 million pounds), Marmarabirlik handles 40 to 45 percent of the whole region it covers. The products of Marmarabirlik include olive, olive paste and olive oil.

Some of the best olives in the world grow in the northwestern region of Turkey (the Marmara region). Established in 1954, one of Marmarabirlik;s top priorities has been to promote local olive producers; cooperation. Marmarabirlik now boasts a whopping 50,000 producer members.

AA