Gümüşhane's digital trade potential
Gümüşhane's signature product is pestil and köme: this traditional, geographically indicated food, made from mulberry and walnut, has made the city known across the country. Gümüşhane on its own supplies almost all of Türkiye's pestil and köme production; with thousands of tonnes made each year, it holds a national monopoly in this field.
Pestil and köme are now opening up to the world market: with contacts in Baku, the Chinese market as a target and participation in international food fairs, the sector is turning towards export. This is strong potential that multilingual e-commerce and a B2B set-up can grow.
The rosehip is the city's second agricultural brand: Gümüşhane is the gene centre of the rosehip and home to dozens of varieties, and this geographically indicated product is valuable for marmalade, tea and health products. Other crops such as mulberry and walnut also feed the pestil and köme chain.
Mining is both a historic and a current line of business: the city takes its name from its silver mines, and today gold, copper and lead-zinc have a place in the regional economy. Mineral concentrate carries potential for B2B export.
Tourism is a strong asset: the Karaca Cave, one of Türkiye's largest, and the Kadırga and Santa highlands are attractions for nature and culture tourism. This is a digital opportunity for accommodation and tour operators.
Gümüşhane's opportunity is to turn its pestil and köme monopoly and its natural products into digital value: taking pestil into geographically indicated, packaged and branded exports, the rosehip into a health food brand, and the cave and highlands into multilingual tourism marketing. The product and the story are strong; what is missing is digital visibility and brand.