"Turkish farms grow wheat, peaches, pomegranate, figs, chick peas, lentils, nectarines, olives, cucumbers and onions, among other items. It's possible that one day, Turkish olive oil - which is often traded to Italy, packed there as Italian Olive Oil and sold in U.S. stores that way - could be imported through Wilmington. While Turkey is interested in exporting items, leaders and farmers also need to export items such as soybeans - a crop Cinton County and Ohio have in abundance. But Turkish businesses want beans that are not genetically modified (often referred to as non-GMO). Clinton County and Ohio are able to provide non-GMO products, but Turkish government leaders are concerned non-GMO products could be contaminated by GMO crops. On this, issue, Curry played the lead. A farmer himself, Curry worked to explain to officials how containerized beans can be sealed up at a Clinton County farm, and not unsealed until the container hits its final location. And, of course, all of that can be shipped at the Wilmington Air Park. Containerized shipments of beans is already happening in Fayette County, Curry said, so he knows it can be done. There, beans are being shipped to Japan for tofu. "The Minister of Agriculture is concerned that even if two containers are side-by-side, the dust can get into it from another - that's how nervous he is," Curry said. "We need to work with the Ohio Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of Agriculture and see if we can get some people over there to discuss that." Dixon said Curry is on the verge of a break-through. "What he knows right now can probably open the door for the whole country if he can get this solved," Dixon said. "It's not a big thing to get solved, but it takes knowing the right people and he knows them." With much of these ideas, it may be just a matter of time before they take off, Dixon said. Clinton County has a lot to offer in the industry of global trade. "We have companies saying they're ready and we have vast resources," he said. "It's amazing how proud you can be from a county in Ohio. You can be 7,000 miles away and so proud of all the things we can do." Can anyone please explain this to me? I would think it would be so specialized we aren't talking about much trade? Officials still wrestle with our empty, huge, modern airport. Thanks, Ed Winkle |
If its $300t for fert from Florida....my beans go on rail then ocean liner to Asia...that can't be cheap....
ReplyDeleteAir goes in a strait line...
How many bu can a plane haul...a tank weights alot....
Those are my questions, too. I don't have time to seek out the answers but maybe I will run into them over time!
ReplyDeleteI hope it works out though I am not encouraging heavy planes lifting over our house at 4 am in the morning like they did when we moved here. I hate to see the county suffer when there is such a goldmine sitting empty. Maybe it's just a worthless piece of property now compared to what it was when DHL was active here.
The 300 a ton would include probably around $50 for the product and $250 for handling and freight so maybe you have a point, I don't know.
Ed Winkle
Those are my questions, too. I don't have time to seek out the answers but maybe I will run into them over time!
ReplyDeleteI hope it works out though I am not encouraging heavy planes lifting over our house at 4 am in the morning like they did when we moved here. I hate to see the county suffer when there is such a goldmine sitting empty. Maybe it's just a worthless piece of property now compared to what it was when DHL was active here.
The 300 a ton would include probably around $50 for the product and $250 for handling and freight so maybe you have a point, I don't know.
Ed Winkle
Makes sense for perishables, but I doubt soybeans gain anything in the process apart from extra cost. Even high value non-perishable items should use less costly and less polluting transport such as ships. I don't even think Turkey has any product that wouldn't be welcome in the rest of Europe. In any case, it needs first to build an image on its products before trying to export them, so people have recognition of Turkish olive oil, figs, dried fruits, nuts and want them.
ReplyDeleteThe U.S. should expand on California's efforts to produce olive oil if the demand is really so strong, instead of importing so-called Italian olive oil. There are many more regions where it can grow, even in non-irrigated areas. And then maybe I'll be able to find real delicious black ripe olives in the shop, instead of these awful green olives dyed black in brine. This product alone probably has all the 8 chemicals Ed mentioned in today's blog... ;)