Dried mulberries: Higher prices expected
In Turkey, about 70,000 mt of mulberries are harvested annually, and dried mulberries are becoming increasingly popular. This year's harvest is already underway, and market players expect prices to rise due to the current circumstances.
Export interest is growing.
Turkey is known for its dried fig production. The fruit belong to the mulberry family, but the mulberry itself is also found in many parts of Turkey, from the Mediterranean region to Anatolia the fruits are cultivated. The main occurrence is in north-eastern, south-eastern and central Anatolia between 0 and 1,500 m above sea level.
Turkey is one of the most important countries in the world in terms of both genetic resources and the volume of fruit production. Around 100 fruit varieties are grown in Turkey, including almost all deciduous fruit species, and many subtropical and some tropical fruit varieties. Among the fruit species, soft fruits as well as grapes, account for 25% of the country's total fruit production. The most important soft fruits besides grapes are strawberries (average annual production of 200,000 mt), followed by mulberries (70,000 mt), raspberries and blackberries (30,000 mt), and blueberries (5,000 mt). Cultivation is particularly widespread in the provinces of Kahramanmaraş, Adıyaman, Elazığ, Erzincan, Malatya and Tokat. And besides Izmir, Malatya can now also be mentioned as an important centre for dried mulberries in terms of processing and export.
In Turkey, mulberry trees are grown only for fruit production, while in other important growing countries such as India, China, etc., mulberry trees are used for leaf production in sericulture, the cultivation of silk. The interest in growing mulberry trees is increasing year by year in Turkey. This season's exports are also on a good track, with 1.088 million kg of dried mulberries worth USD 4.57 million exported from Turkey since the start of the season. The main customers are the Netherlands, followed by the USA, Germany, France and the UK. (Mundus-Agri)
Harvest is already underway.
Currently, there are no more free positions available in the market. Producers have already started production of the new crop. Market players reckon prices could climb this year due to increased cultivation costs. (Mundus-Agri)
