A rocket supplier in Turkey is dealing with a delicate leaf, and the time between cutting and cooling decides how that leaf arrives. Hatipoğlu Tarım is an Antalya-based exporter of fresh fruit and vegetables, in business since 2002, and it supplies rocket in all twelve months. Written for importers, wholesalers and retail buyers, this guide sets out how the product is handled, what the published research says about tender leaves, how rocket is packed loose or bagged, and what belongs in an enquiry.
Rocket or arugula: one leaf, two trade names
The company lists the product as arugula; British buyers know it as rocket. An arugula supplier and a supplier of rocket are therefore offering the same leaf, recognised by its distinctive aroma and its delicate texture. Two related guides cover garden cress, another aromatic leaf, and fresh parsley.
Cutting, washing, cooling: one flow
To protect freshness, Hatipoğlu Tarım manages cutting, washing and cooling as a planned, uninterrupted sequence. The company’s product text gives the reason plainly: in thin-leaved products, rapid cooling after harvest is important for quality.
Rocket leaves from Turkey in every month
Supply runs the whole year. Rocket leaves from Turkey can be scheduled by the delivery weeks of your own programme, and the season calendar shows what else can be ordered for the same weeks.
What good quality looks like
UC Davis publishes no separate fact sheet for rocket. The general data it publishes for fresh culinary herbs are used here as a guide for tender leafy greens as well. According to those data, quality is largely visual:
- Appearance: fresh, with uniform size, form and colour.
- Leaves: no yellowed or damaged leaves.
- Condition: no decay and no wilting.
- Aroma: the characteristic aroma is essential, and it declines during storage.
Temperature, humidity and water loss
For most herbs the same general data name 0 °C as the storage temperature, with relative humidity above 95%, and an expected shelf life of three weeks at 0 °C and two weeks at 5 °C. These figures are not specific to rocket and should be read as a general guide only. One remark in the source applies directly to a light leaf sold in small units: because the quantities marketed are small, water loss is a serious cause of quality loss.
Lettuces, fresh herbs and spring onions are carried at around 0 °C and can be loaded together, which makes a mixed truck of leafy products possible. Greenhouse vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and cucumbers are carried at around 10 °C and cannot share that temperature. Read more in the cold chain in fresh produce export.
Loose or bagged: packing for retail and arugula wholesale
Rocket is prepared in two ways: loose in ventilated cases, or bagged where a retail customer asks for it. Both go into cases of 30 × 40 × 14 cm, available as a carton or as a plastic crate. For arugula wholesale, say whether the loose pack suits you; for a supermarket programme, state that you need bags. Cases are loaded on 80 × 120 cm euro pallets. Case formats are compared in packaging and case sizes in export.
Papers and tariff position when you import rocket from Turkey
If you import rocket from Turkey into Europe, expect a residue analysis for every lot; the company carries one out on all lots bound for Europe. Its certificates are ISO 9001, ISO 22000, ISO 10002, GLOBALG.A.P. IFA and GRASP. We quote no HS code for rocket, because the classification of leafy herbs can vary with the intended use and the country. Confirm the tariff position with your customs broker before shipment. Background: EU pesticide MRLs.
Import process: six steps
For rocket the six steps read: cutting, washing and cooling, grading, packing loose or in bags, cold storage and dispatch. The company plans by the truck, and 33 euro pallets fill a standard 13.60 m refrigerated truck.
Getting a quotation
Send six details: the product type, the leaf size you expect, the packaging (loose or bagged, carton or crate), the weekly volume, the delivery week and the destination country. Phone +90 242 339 55 25, WhatsApp +90 534 260 07 25, e-mail 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.
Let us know whether you need rocket loose or bagged and how much per week, and we will prepare a quotation.
