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BAKTAD TO RECEIVE 1 MILLION EURO IN DONATIONS FROM THE EU

GAZIANTEP - "The Association of Baklava & Dessert Producers (BAKTAD) will initiate a campaign to introduce Turkish baklava in European countries. For this purpose, we plan to receive a donation of one million Euro from the European Union,'' Association executives said, today.
BAKTAD CEO Mehmet Yildirim told AA that there is poor publicity regarding the promotion of Turkey's national dessert 'baklava' in Europe.
"The Turkish Ministry of Culture & Tourism and BAKTAD must work together to spread the word that baklava is Turkey's national dessert," told Yildirim.
Yildirim underlined that they "are working on a project for a publicity campaign for baklavas in the EU. The project will cost about one million Euro. We will file an application with the EU to receive donations. Currently, we are seeking a European partner."
BAKTAD intends to distribute free baklavas in major European cities.
"The Golden Rolling-Pin Baklava Experts Competition" will take place in Istanbul, noted Yildirim. "This competition was held at national level in the past three years. After Greek Cypriot claims that baklava is a Greek Cypriot dessert, we decided to hold the annual competition at international level. We sent invitations to many countries, including Greek Cypriot administration, but have not received a response from any country's baklava experts yet," stressed Yildirim.
Baklava is a popular rich, sweet pastry found all across Anatolia and is made of chopped nuts layered with phyllo pastry, sweetened with sugar or honey syrup.
Turkey consumes approximately 300 tonnes of baklava on a daily basis. Turkish baklava entrepreneurs export baklava to dozens of countries worldwide.