Turkish Dried Apricots Update...

Apricot Update 7.9.15

Exports in the first month of the season were 6,117 tons, a 36% increase on last years 4,504 for the same period.

Strong numbers particularly as the crop was late and virtually nothing was shipped in the first week of August. We expect September to be higher.

The harvest is complete. Quality deteriorated as the harvest progressed, with most lots now arriving without farmers having carried out any size grading or defect selection. The majority of the crop is large fruits due to the reduced yields following the frosts in April. There is virtually no difference in price between size 2 3 4 and 5.

Prices for sulphured apricots has remained steady at Tl 10/Kg for the past 5 weeks, with any variation in export prices coming from the exchange rate. The Lira is volatile due to political uncertainty ahead of the re run of the general election scheduled for 1st  November.

Organic prices have been increasing as supply is clearly tighter than expected, the premium for organic is now approaching 60%

The current market for conventional looks like it is priced at the right level to sell the 80,000 tons available over the next 11 months.