A Starking apple supplier sells appearance before anything else: the red stripes are the reason the fruit is ordered, and a marked skin is the reason it is rejected. Hatipoğlu Tarım, an Antalya-based fresh produce exporter in business since 2002, prepares Starking for export with that in mind. Importers, wholesalers and retail buyers will find below the season, the grading points, the packing and the documents in the order a buyer needs them.
Starking and the Red Delicious group
The Starking stands out in the red apple market for its crimson stripes, sweet aroma and eye-catching look. It is one of the red strains of the Red Delicious group, so a buyer searching for a Red Delicious apple supplier is looking at the same family of fruit. Wherever this guide quotes postharvest figures, they are the data published for the Red Delicious group, not figures measured on Starking alone.
When Starking apples from Turkey are available
The fruit is harvested from September to December. Under suitable storage conditions, Starking apples from Turkey can be supplied until early summer, and our calendar lists the variety through June.
Buyers who want a yellow and a green apple beside the red one can turn to our guides to Golden Delicious and Granny Smith.
Grading points for a display apple
Our selection is based on colour, size, firmness and skin integrity. For a variety bought on looks, colour leads the list:
- Colour: in the data published for the Red Delicious group, quality is defined by the intensity and the uniformity of the red skin colour.
- Texture: the same data name firmness, crispness and the absence of mealiness.
- Skin integrity: the skin of Starking is delicate; no pressure marks, cuts or punctures.
- Size: one size range per carton, agreed in the order.
Single-layer cartons for a delicate skin
Because the skin is delicate, orders aimed at display quality are prepared in single-layer cartons, and the fruit is cooled on the day of harvest. In a single layer no apple carries the weight of another, and every fruit can be seen when the carton is opened.
The research points the same way: for the Red Delicious group, UC Davis notes that bruising can be considerable and calls for gentle handling. Buyers placing red apple wholesale orders should state clearly whether the fruit is meant for display, because that decides the pack.
Scald, watercore and storage figures for the group
According to data published by UC Davis for the Red Delicious group, the optimum storage temperature is 0 °C ± 1 °C at 90–95% relative humidity; the fruit freezes at −1.7 °C. Susceptibility to superficial scald is rated high. For storage beyond one month, controlled atmosphere retains acidity and firmness and reduces scald, with 1–2% oxygen and 2–4% carbon dioxide recommended. The potential cited is up to 10 months in controlled atmosphere and 6 months in air.
One disorder concerns late pickings. Watercore can appear in fruit harvested towards the end of the season, and the data state that such fruit should be marketed without delay. More on temperature control on the road is in our cold chain article.
Carton size, truck capacity and customs code
The carton listed for Starking measures 30 × 50 × 22 cm. On the road the unit is the euro pallet, 80 × 120 cm, and a full load is 33 pallets in a 13.60 m refrigerated truck. Pallet patterns are discussed in packaging and case sizes in export and in our notes on loading and pallet patterns.
If the truck is not filled with apples alone, pears and quinces are compatible partners, since all three are carried near 0 °C. They are ethylene producers, so loading them with leafy vegetables, cucumbers and similar ethylene-sensitive lines is not recommended, and the 10 °C range of greenhouse tomatoes, peppers and aubergines does not match either.
Apples are declared under HS 0808.10. The full tariff line is a matter to confirm with your customs broker ahead of shipment.
Certification and residue checks
Five certificates are in place: ISO 9001, ISO 22000, ISO 10002, GLOBALG.A.P. IFA and GRASP. Residue analysis is carried out on every lot that goes to Europe. A summary of what retail customers tend to request is given in which certificates European buyers require.
Six steps, one chain
Companies that import red apples from Turkey through us follow one chain of six steps, all run in house. The apples are harvested, cooled the same day, graded by colour and size, packed – in single-layer cartons where display quality is ordered – kept in cold storage and dispatched by refrigerated truck.
Requesting an offer
Six pieces of information let us prepare an offer: the variety, the size, the packaging, the weekly volume, the delivery week and the destination country. We answer on +90 242 339 55 25 by phone and on +90 534 260 07 25 by WhatsApp; email goes to info@hatipoglutarim.com.
Hatipoğlu Tarım has exported fresh fruit and vegetables from Antalya since 2002. Under the FİNİKE brand it ships 128 product lines to 42 countries, with harvest, grading, cold storage and dispatch handled in house across five facilities in Serik, Kepez, Mavikent, Yenişehir and Alaşehir.
Write to us via the contact form with your Starking sizes, pack type and weekly volume, and we will come back with an offer.
