In 2013, 50 hazelnut farmers residing in Paralı village, Karasu district, established the Paralı Village North Agricultural Development Cooperative with the aim of better utilizing the products they sold to traders. With the support of the Eastern Marmara Development Agency (MARKA), the facility where they packaged and sold hazelnuts in the domestic market was transformed into a factory in 2020. The cooperative partner farmers began production of roasted hazelnuts, hazelnut-coated dragees, and salted roasted hazelnuts.

As the number of members exceeded 100, the cooperative set higher goals and, with a second grant from MARKA, aims to increase its production capacity to 2,000 tons and export Sakarya’s hazelnuts. Cooperative President Ozgur Ugur stated that they had found solutions to their marketing and sales challenges.

Ozgur Ugur explained that the cooperative’s building and a 3,000-ton storage facility were constructed by the partner farmers themselves, eliminating the need to entrust hazelnuts to others.

Now, we’re setting our sights on the global market!

OZGUR UGUR / Chairman of The Agricultural Cooperative Board

He also mentioned that they established a production line with an grant-funded loan from MARKA. Ozgur Ugur said, “As our business grew, we had some missing machines in the facility. We applied to MARKA again, and it was approved. Our project is approximately 2.75 million Turkish Lira. This grant loan will open up opportunities for us in exports. We have now turned our focus towards exports.