Press release…
International conference of raisin producing countries held online…
Türkiye is by far the world leader in raisin production…
Türkiye, which is by far the world leader in raisin production and export, reached 99 countries in 2021/22 season raisin exports and increased by 3 percent to 441 million 862 thousand dollars.
Delegations from Argentina, Australia, Chile, Greece, South Africa, Türkiye and the USA attended the third online meeting of the 62nd International Conference of Seedless Raisin Producing Countries, organized by the Aegean Dried Fruits and Products Exporters’ Association.
Türkiye declared at the meeting that it will single-handedly achieve 24 percent of the worldwide 1.288 thousand tonnes of seedless raisins with a yield of approximately 320 thousand tonnes.
The USA ranks second with a production of 221 thousand 83 tonnes, while China ranks third with 190 thousand tonnes of seedless raisins. India 145 thousand tonnes, Iran 110 thousand tonnes, Uzbekistan 70 thousand tonnes, Chile 66 thousand 144 tonnes, South Africa 57 thousand tonens, Argentina 45 thousand tonnes, Australia 12 thousand 984 tonnes of raisins.
As for the seedless raisin producing countries, while aiming to export 626 thousand 284 tonnes of raisins worldwide in 2022, Türkiye set its goal to get a 43 percent share in world exports alone, with its 270 thousand tonnes of raisin exports.
“We expect a yield close to 320 thousand tonnes in the 2022/23 season”
Making the opening speech of the International Conference of Seedless Raisin Producer Countries, Türkiye Dried Fruit Sector Board Chairman Osman Öz said that Türkiye gets a share of around 35 percent from the world’s seedless raisin exports every year.
“By exporting 252 thousand 354 thousand tonnes of raisins in the 2021/22 season, we achieved a spike of 13 percent on a quantity basis compared to the previous season. We expect around 320 thousand tonnes of harvest in the 2022/23 season. The World Seedless Raisin Producer Countries Conference was planned to be held in Izmir this year, but due to Covid-19, we gathered online for the third time,” Öz said.
“We met with representatives from Argentina, Australia, Chile, Greece, South Africa and the USA. Producer countries evaluated the season of 2021/22 and made presentations on their harvest, domestic consumption and export expectations for 2022/23. We decided to hold the conference on 13-14 October 2023 in Türkiye. We hope to see all our stakeholders in our country next year,” Öz added.
Osman Öz, Chairman of the Dried Fruit Sector Board from Türkiye was also elected as the President of the 2022 International Conference of Seedless Raisin Producer Countries, Mark King from Australia as the Vice President and Ece Tırkaz from Turkey as the clerk.