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Press release… 15
At the Aegean Dried Fruit and Products Exporters’ Association’s Advisory General Assembly, a recommendation was made to kick off the 2025/26 dried fig season of which Türkiye is a global leader in production and export, on October 15, 2025.
The Ministry of Trade will make the final decision on the export start date, which is considered the first ship date for dried figs.
Mehmet Ali Işık, Chair of the Aegean Dried Fruits and Products Exporters’ Association stated that the 2024/25 season for dried figs was challenging.
Emphasizing that the frequency of aflatoxin and ochratoxin controls in the European Union surged in the 2025/26 season, he said, “The countries worldwide, particularly the UK, Switzerland and EFTA countries, have begun to demand EU standards. Therefore, producers, traders, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Ministry of Trade and exporters will jointly take steps to further enhance overall quality to avoid export problems in the European Union, the largest export market for Turkish dried figs and in other markets.”
“We want everyone to know that we, as exporters, cannot carry the burden of dried figs alone. This is a process from farm to table. In our meeting with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, we undelined that the issues affecting traders and middlemen will also impact producers. We requested that produce be kept in crates in warehouses, that product should not spill on the ground and that blending should be avoided. We also asked traders to check for aflatoxin before collecting and storing figs,” he noted.
Highlighting that they suffered financial and moral losses in 2024, he concluded, “Conditions necessitate joint action. The era of profiting from harvesting (offtake) is over. Dried figs are a boutique product. We must be meticulous in processing and analyze every product we receive. The frequency of inspections has increased and we will work with discipline to reduce the frequency again. We are asking traders to install darkrooms. The first shipment of dried figs will start October 15, 2025. By the way, we have given our farmers sufficient time to sort the dried figs suitable for export. By fulfilling our responsibilities as stakeholders in the sector, we can transform the 2025/26 harvest into added value. We wish all our producers, traders and exporters a fruitful season.”
