THE GLOBAL WINDOW OF TURKISH FOOD AND AGRICULTURE The Global Window of Turkish Food and Agriculture Sector
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Press release…
Akhisar, a district of Manisa province, Türkiye’s leader in table olive production, opened this year’s harvest season with the slogan “If You’re Going to Break, Don’t Break Hearts, But the olives!”
Alper Alhat, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Akhisar Commodity Exchange, emphasized that labour, love and sharing are at the core of production. “Olive farming is a lifestyle that requires patience and care. We produce with our hearts. If you’re going to break olives, break olives, don’t break hearts. Because in these lands, production is done with respect for nature and humanity,” Alhat said.
Labour and Solidarity in the Joy of Harvest…
At the olive harvest hosted by the Akhisar Commodity Exchange, guests hand-picked olives from the trees alongside olive workers and cracked olives one by one for natural green olives. Speaking at the event, Alhat made important statements about the year-round hard work of producers and the changes in the olive and olive oil sector. Alhat also underlined that Akhisar is Türkiye’s flagship in table olives.
Akhisar; When It Comes to Olives…
“We possess the most advanced know-how and production infrastructure in our country, from moisture-controlled underground irrigation systems to fertilization technologies, from pruning to modern harvesting methods. We are also a leader in table olive and olive oil processing and packaging. Today, 70 percent of the olives and olive oil on Turkish shelves bear the Akhisar signature,” he noted.
We Look 365 Days, We Set the Standard…
Pointing out that olive trees are known to exhibit cyclicity, meaning they yield more one year and less the next, but with proper care and harvesting without breaking the shoots, it’s possible to reduce this, he added, “As the people of Akhisar, we’ve demonstrated this with the yields we’ve had for years. However, this year has been an extreme year. Some of our regions have been hit hard by both heat and cold. Rainfall has been low and on top of that, groundwater has dried up. Unfortunately, there has been a dramatic decrease in yield.”
