Turkish Apricots Market Update 04.04.24

Turkey's total export quantity of the 2023 crop has been realised as 51.354 MT, down from 61.912 MT in the same period last year.

The new crop is developing nicely, despite a frost having minimal effects on the new corp. The month of March has passed pretty well in terms of weather conditions in the growing areas. Temperatures are holding around 15-20°C, the rains have been balanced and there hasn't been any serious frost damage. As a result, the flowers are turning into fruits in the valley area and the trees look good with no serious illnesses reported by farmers. Magnolia disease was the main problem last year with continuous rains but this has not generally been seen in Malatya for the new crop.

It's too early to say that we will have a good crop for the new season yet. April is the most critical month for the bloom period as the flowers are already turning to fruit. The fruit is unprotected from cold weather, therefore the next 2-3 weeks will determine the quantity and quality of the new crop. The weather forecast shows suitable conditions and temperatures for the next 7 days, so the hope is that the weather will be suitable until the end of April without any unpleasant surprises.

The natural (unsulphured) apricots are extremely limited in the market as the farmers prefer dry sulphured apricots with a short crop year. The price difference between sulphured and natural apricots is also higher than it usually is, and in this respect, the availability problem with natural apricots means that buyers should take their positions on this item asap.

The market will determine its direction on the availability of the raw material, currency movement, customer demand and weather conditions based on the weather conditions during the bloom period of the 2024 crop in the coming days.

via Sunrose