By Muhittin Sandikci 

RIZE, Turkey

Turkey's General Directorate of Tea Enterprises (Caykur) exported tea to 110 countries by the end of 2017, according to Caykur Chairman Imdat Sutluoglu on Saturday.

Speaking at a news conference in the Black Sea province of Rize, he said: "We are trying to increase our exports and enter new markets."

He said Caykur was involved in 38 European, 37 African, 15 Asian, 14 Middle Eastern and six American countries.

Caykur's tea exports include processed tea and iced tea named Didi.

He said Caykur would begin to export tea to Iraq starting from next week.

Caykur, established in 1983, is a state-owned enterprise; its products of processed teas include white, green, black, organic, leaf and iced tea. It employees more than 10,600 people in its 56 factories.