TURKISH AGRI.NEWS

Press release... As from August 1, 2019 until March 30 period, 76 thousand tons of dried apricots were exported and 197 million dollars of foreign exchange obtained in return. Chairman of Aegean Dried Fruits and Products Exporters' Association Birol Celep said that through the coronavirus epidemic, the demand for dried fruits that strengthened immunity increased. Stating that in March of 2019 raisins, dried apricots and figs exports amounted to 77 million dollars but this figure surged to 90 million dollars, in other words an increase of 16 percent occurred in March this year, Celep explained, "Since the start of the season, 723 million dollars have been generated from raisins, dried apricots and dried figs. Especially with its high nutritional values, dried apricots are among the nutritious foods that strengthen the immune system against coronavirus. Besides being rich in vitamins A, B, C, E, K, it is also a storehouse of iron, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magne...

Dubbed the apricot capital, the province of Malatya in eastern Anatolia managed to export its dried apricots to 110 countries across the world throughout 2019. Turkey is known as a top producer and exporter of apricots, both fresh and dried, and Malatya accounts for 90 percent of the country's apricot exports. Apricots are collected from about 8 million trees in Malatya, out of the total 11 million in Turkey. Some 50,000 families are said to earn a livelihood from this product in the city. Turkish apricots earned a coveted EU geographical indication in July 2017, a registration that helps unique products to be protected, marketed and advertised. It was the third Turkish product to get this EU designation after Gaziantep baklava, a rich, sweet pastry featured in many cuisines of the former Ottoman countries, along with the Aegean fig. Malatya exported 95,350 tons of dried apricots in 2018, according to Malatya Commodity Exchange Chairman Ramazan Özcan. In 2019, some 99,666 tons wer...