DCT Trading has subsidiaries named YAKA IKE, BLUEFARM IKE, PULSE Finansal Teknolojiler ve Danışmanlık A.Ş., DCT Group Tarım Ürünleri ve Lisanslı Depoculuk A.Ş. and BLUEFARM TARIM Teknolojileri ve Üretim A.Ş.
YAKA IKE
YAKA primarily purchases cherries from growers in Western Thrace, where its facility is located, as well as from growers and cooperatives in other regions of Greece. Its advanced optical calibrator enables the facility to categorize purchased cherries efficiently by both quality and size. This allows products to be sold directly to supermarket chains across Europe using different packaging, product-quality and service formats. Thanks to its location within the European Union and its supplier network in Greece, YAKA can conduct intra-EU trade and expand into new markets.
When YAKA began operations, it underwent various audits in accordance with international standards covering the facility, food safety, quality management systems, operations and packaging processes. Following these audits, YAKA achieved the highest BRC rating of AA+ and an IFS score of 100% in Greece’s cherry sector.
Since 2017, YAKA has worked with more than 300 GLOBALG.A.P.-certified growers. It obtained the required certifications, including BRC, IFS, EN ISO 22000, GRASP and GLOBALG.A.P., and commenced cherry production and trading activities.
YAKA exports to European, Asian and Balkan markets by refrigerated truck and air cargo and supplies well-known supermarket chains in Europe and Asia.
In addition to supporting its growers in obtaining GLOBALG.A.P. certification, YAKA provides year-round consultancy services, including the monitoring and control of agricultural maintenance programs, and operates in accordance with good and controlled agricultural practices. It employs approximately 12 people for its consultancy services and around 100 additional employees during the cherry season from May to July. Approximately 95% of employees are Western Thrace Turks, and women account for 85% of the total workforce.
The Yaka region, northwest of Komotini in Greece at the foothills of the Rhodope Mountains, has more than a century of cherry-growing history. The Rhodope Mountains protect orchards from cold winter winds and help create warm days and cool nights in summer, giving YAKA a competitive advantage by enabling some of the earliest harvests from the beginning of May.
YAKA takes its name from the Yaka region, reflecting its strategic location at the heart of the cherry-growing area. Local climatic conditions combined with carefully selected varieties produce firm, sweet and delicate cherries. Varieties grown in the Yaka region include Burlat, Early Lory, Early Bigi, Samba, Sabrina, Lapins, Skeena, Z900, Ferrovia, Regina and Kordia.
BLUEFARM IKE
Established in 2021, BLUEFARM produces blueberries on a total of 200 decares of land acquired through purchases and long-term leases. In 2023, in cooperation with international experts specializing in blueberry cultivation, a new crop-care program was developed and implemented, resulting in the first harvest. Approximately 3 tons were harvested from around 6,000 initially planted three-year-old bushes and approximately 12,000 subsequently planted two-year-old bushes. Production was targeted to reach at least 10 tons the following year, with yields expected to increase annually until the sixth year after planting, when productivity is expected to reach 4–5 kg per bush.
BLUEFARM’s principal activity is blueberry production, complemented by cherry production. Under the consultancy of YAKA experts, crop-care work in its orchards is carried out between March and November, while harvesting takes place in May, June and July. During the harvest season, BLUEFARM employs approximately 100 local residents, around 80% of whom are women.
BLUEFARM has approximately 18,000 planted blueberry bushes and around 2,200 cherry trees. During the winter of 2024–2025, an additional 25,000 blueberry bushes were planted. With the latest planting bringing the total to approximately 45,000 bushes, BLUEFARM is expected to reach an average annual blueberry production capacity of 180 tons once the plants reach full productivity in their sixth year.
Following BLUEFARM’s first harvest, local growers who recognized the crop’s productivity began shifting some of their existing production toward blueberries. BLUEFARM and YAKA engineers also provide consultancy support to these growers.
PULSE Finansal Teknolojiler ve Danışmanlık A.Ş.
Pulse is a technology company headquartered in Izmir that aims to create value for businesses through innovative financial technology solutions. Pulse develops advanced technology products that optimize financial decisions, improve business processes and provide users with strategic advantages.
DCT Group Tarım Ürünleri ve Lisanslı Depoculuk A.Ş.
DCT Group is the company established to operate DCT Trading’s licensed warehousing activities, drawing on the Group’s deep knowledge and experience in its core cotton business. Establishment permission has been obtained from the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Trade. The licensed warehouse to be established in Şanlıurfa is intended to provide insured and secure storage for both DCT Trading’s own products and regional products, supporting fair price discovery and export opportunities.
BLUEFARM TARIM Teknolojileri ve Üretim A.Ş.
Bluefarm Tarım Teknolojileri ve Üretim A.Ş. is DCT Trading’s strategic investment in blueberry production in the Thrace Region. Work has begun to establish modern production infrastructure on a 206-decare site in İpsala, Edirne, with the aim of expanding blueberry cultivation in the region through a contract-farming model. By channeling blueberries produced by the company and sourced from contracted growers into all sales channels, particularly export markets, Bluefarm aims to become one of Türkiye’s strongest and leading companies in the blueberry sector in the coming years.