In Manisa, which alone accounts for 90% of Turkey’s dried grape exports, the harvest of Sultaniye seedless grapes for drying, which was started by the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry İbrahim Yumaklı, has begun. The Sultaniye seedless grapes, known as ‘yellow gold’ in the region, are meticulously collected by workers who come to the vineyards in the early hours of the morning. The collected grapes are carried to the exhibition areas to dry.
Grapes brought from some vineyards are washed with a special mixture of water, potassium carbonate and olive oil and placed in the exhibitions, while organically produced grapes are laid directly in the exhibition areas. As the drying process of the Sultaniye grapes begins, colorful and moving images are created in the plain. The grapes, which are exhibited for about 10 days, are then processed in the facilities and sent to companies for export, and carefully packaged and prepared.
‘We Want Input Costs to Be Subsidized’
Grapes are exported to 103 countries, mostly European countries, especially England. Manisa farmers, who earned $401 million from 237 thousand tons last year, earned $464 million from 199 thousand tons of raisins as of August this year. Expressing that they expect grapes to gain value as soon as possible, Saruhanlı Chamber of Agriculture President Aydoğan Okur said, “The 2024 grape harvest season has started in Saruhanlı, known as the grape production center of Manisa. Grape harvest is carried out on approximately 110 thousand acres of land in our district. This year, we see a slight decrease in grapes compared to last year. TARİŞ officials announced the price of 7 grapes as 100 liras. During his visit to Manisa, our Minister of Agriculture stated that prices may. change depending on the quality of the grapes in the coming days and that the prices of number 8 and number 9 grapes may also be different. This product provides 500 million dollars of income to our country. . We do not want any support such as premium support; however, we demand that input costs be subsidized during the production of the products we will grow.”
Calling on farmers to sell their grapes as much as they need, Okur said, “England is one of our biggest export countries. Then we sell to other European countries and various other countries. The Soil Products Office does not have the stocks of other institutions This year the crop is low. I am calling out to our farmers from here; buy as much as you need, try to keep the rest of your crop at home, those grapes will be valued at better prices. . Do not short-sell your grapes or leave them for safekeeping.”
Farmer Ali Rıza Fakı, who grows grapes in Kumkuyucak Neighborhood of Saruhanlı district, said, “It will be more advantageous for us if the prices are high because the yield is low.”
