THE GLOBAL WINDOW OF TURKISH FOOD AND AGRICULTURE The Global Window of Turkish Food and Agriculture Sector
Related Articles
Press release…
Türkiye’s eastern Anatolia’s province of Malatya, which meets a large portion of the world’s dried apricot demand, is facing its most challenging production season in history.
The agricultural frost and cold spell in April 2025 caused significant damage by catching apricot trees in bloom. It is estimated that this year’s dried apricot production in Malatya, which averages 90-100 thousand tonnes annually, will not even reach 5 thousand tonnes.
Extreme weather conditions are deeply affecting the agricultural sector. Türkiye entered 2025 feeling the full force of the climate crisis.
‘Frost and extreme temperatures are suffocating farmers’
Mehmet Ali Işık, Chair of the Aegean Dried Fruits and Products Exporters’ Association, summarised the situation as follows: “I have been involved in dried fruit exports for over 40 years. This is the first time I have witnessed a natural disaster affecting 36 provinces and causing such widespread crop losses. Temperatures dropping to -17 degrees in April resulted in historic yield losses across many crops, from apricots to walnuts, grapes to cherries. In July, temperatures reaching 45 degrees dealt a second blow.”
Işık emphasised that producers urgently need financial support to keep their orchards afloat during this season, when dried apricot production is negligible. Işık said, “Our producers cannot maintain these orchards by taking out loans at interest rates of 50-60 percent. Businesses must be supported so that they can protect their workers and cover their fixed costs. Our government needs to take urgent action on this issue.”
Approximately 35,000 tonnes of stock will serve as a bridge in exports…
Approximately 35,000 tonnes of dried apricot stock carried over from the 2024/25 season will be the sector’s biggest support for exports to continue in the new season.
In the 2024/25 season, Türkiye completed its dried apricot exports at 74,774 tonnes, generating 377.4 million dollars in revenue. While there was a 12 percent increase in export volume compared to the previous season, foreign exchange earnings decreased by 5 percent. In the 2023/24 season, 66,178 tonnes of dried apricots generated 398 million dollars in revenue.
Top countries for dried apricot exports…
Türkiye exported dried apricots to 115 countries in the 2024/25 season. The top three countries for exports were the United States with 67.5 million dollars, France with 30.4 million dollars and Germany with 25.6 million dollars…
