THE GLOBAL WINDOW OF TURKISH FOOD AND AGRICULTURE The Global Window of Turkish Food and Agriculture Sector
Related Articles
Fifty thousand families living on apricots in Malatya province, known as the world capital of this product, also has some 8 million of the 17 million apricot trees throughout the country.
After “Antep baklava” and “Aydin figs” being the third product of Turkey with geographical indication registered before the European Union, Malatya apricots were exported to 110 countries last year. During this period, 99 thousand 666 tons of dried apricots were sold out abroad in return for 253 million 500 thousand dollars.
While the producers were preparing for the new harvest season in the province, the commission made preliminary work for the estimated apricot harvest, which was created from the staff of the stakeholder institutions, organizations and chambers related to apricot under the coordination of the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry. The commission will announce the estimated yield after completing its inspection in the gardens.
Tahir Macit, Malatya Provincial Director of Agriculture and Forestry, said to the AA (Anadolu Agency) reporter that apricot produced in the province is one of the important agricultural products that provide foreign currency input to the country’s economy.
Pointing out that apricot has an important place also in the provincial economy, Macit stated that the rain continued across the region in April and that the farmer could not take the pesticide in time due to the rain or he could not see much effect through the pesticides he used.
Stating that “monilya” disease has occurred in some apricot trees, Macit noted, “There are gardens with partial monilya disease, which are on the verge of damage. But we also have gardens with little damage.”
Stating that some of the farmers complained about pesticides on the grounds because of their ineffectiveness, Macit explained that a sample was taken from the pesticides and analyzed.
“By looking at their garden, they declare the yield”
Reminding that different circles explain apricot harvest in the region, Macit added, “Some farmers are explaining the harvest by looking at their own garden. We have organizations in 13 districts, we have 65 vehicles. Our personell are getting around the districts and gardens. So we have all the data. Producers should rely on us.”
“We have 20-30 years of data at hand”
Emphasizing that the yield as low does not have advantages, Macit continued as follows:
“Everyone has developed a formula for himself, explains the harvest, so the public is misled. We have 20-30 years of data and export figures. It goes parallel with the estimated yield we have announced. We are working with scientific data, there may only be 5-10 percent error.”
