Fresh mint wholesale depends on the leaf staying green and moist all the way to the shelf, and with mint two things threaten that: drying out and ethylene. Hatipoğlu Tarım is an Antalya-based exporter of fresh fruit and vegetables, founded in 2002, and mint is on its calendar in all twelve months. In this guide importers, wholesalers and retail buyers can read how the bunches are cut and held, what research says about ethylene and temperature, which cases are used and what an enquiry should contain.
Fresh mint from Turkey: the product
Mint is a delicate green known for its bright colour, fresh leaves and cool aroma. Fresh mint from Turkey is selected by the company on leaf integrity, colour and aroma and prepared in line with the export order. Buyers who build a herb range can continue with the guides to fresh parsley and fresh dill.
Long stems in the field, sizing at the facility
Mint bunches are cut with long stems, a practice meant to help the leaves stay fresh for longer. The bunches are not trimmed to length in the field; sizing is done at the facility. After that the product is cooled quickly and held in humid conditions that help to prevent the leaves from drying.
A mint supplier in Turkey with year-round production
Mint is grown throughout the year, and every month is marked on the product calendar. For a buyer working with a mint supplier in Turkey, the calendar therefore shows no seasonal break. See the season calendar for the other lines.
Quality criteria
- Leaf integrity: whole, fresh leaves.
- Colour: bright green.
- Aroma: fresh and characteristic.
These are the company’s three selection points. UC Davis adds, for fresh culinary herbs in general, that quality is judged largely by eye, by fresh appearance, by uniform size, form and colour, and by the absence of damaged leaves, decay and wilting, and that aroma, which is essential, declines during storage.
Ethylene: the main risk in a mixed load
According to UC Davis, mint is one of the herbs that are highly sensitive to ethylene, together with parsley. The symptoms are yellowing, curvature of the stems and leaf drop. Low temperature reduces the damage that ethylene causes. In practice this means mint should not be loaded with apples, pears, tomatoes or similar ethylene-producing fruit. Lettuces, other fresh herbs and spring onions are carried at around 0 °C and are suitable partners on the truck, with the reservation that the odour of spring onions can pass to other products.
Temperature and humidity figures
The research figures for most herbs are 0 °C and a relative humidity above 95%, with an expected shelf life of three weeks at 0 °C and two weeks at 5 °C. The same fact sheet observes that water loss is a serious cause of quality loss, because herbs are marketed in small quantities. The company’s humid holding conditions address the same concern; the figures themselves are UC Davis data and not a company specification. Further reading: cold chain in fresh produce export.
Cases and pallets
Mint is prepared in cases of 30 × 40 × 14 cm, either a carton or a plastic crate, and packed according to the shipment plan. Bunch weight or bunch count is a figure the buyer specifies. Euro pallets, 80 × 120 cm, are used throughout. The guide to packaging and case sizes in export compares the formats.
Certificates, residues and the tariff position
For a European market, ask about residue analysis and for the certificates. Hatipoğlu Tarım analyses every lot bound for Europe and is certified to ISO 9001, ISO 22000, ISO 10002, GLOBALG.A.P. IFA and GRASP. The HS code is left out of this guide on purpose: the classification of fresh herbs can vary with the intended use and the importing country. Your customs broker should confirm the tariff position before shipment. See which certificates European buyers require.
From a fresh mint exporter in Turkey to your warehouse: six steps
As a fresh mint exporter in Turkey, the company takes an order through six steps: harvest with long stems, rapid cooling, grading and sizing at the facility, packing, cold storage in humid conditions, and dispatch. Shipments are planned as truckloads: 33 euro pallets to a standard 13.60 m refrigerated truck.
Enquiry checklist
If you plan to import fresh mint, a quotation needs the type, the bunch weight or count, the packaging, the weekly volume, the delivery week and the destination country. Our phone line is +90 242 339 55 25, WhatsApp is +90 534 260 07 25, and the e-mail address is 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.
Get in touch with your bunch size, case type and weekly volume for mint, and we will prepare a quotation.
