The estimated apricot harvest of Malatya, known as the world apricot capital, for 2019 was announced as 391 thousand 792 tons.
In Malatya, which meets 90 percent of Turkey's dried apricot production and 67 percent of the world's dried apricot production, 2019 apricot harvest was announced at the meeting. At the meeting held under the auspices of Malatya Governor Aydın Baruş, an estimated 391 thousand 792 tons of fresh apricot production in 2019 and an estimated 87 thousand 642 tons of dried apricot production were announced.
Governor Baruş announced the estimated apricot harvest for 2019 with the participation of Malatya Metropolitan Municipality, Malatya Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry, Malatya Apricot Research Station Directorate, Turgut Özal University, Malatya TSO, Malatya Chamber of Agriculture, Aegean Exporters Union, Malatya Commodity Exchange.
Noting that dried apricots have an important place in Malatya's economy, Baruş said, "It is an important agricultural product that provides a very important income to our province, both in terms of the economic income our farmers receive during the production phase and the sale of a large part of it through exportation in the commercial part."
Noting that the agricultural area in Malatya is 425 thousand 450 hectares, Baruş said:
"It corresponds to 34 percent of the area of ​​our province. 80 thousand 820 hectares of 425 thousand 450 hectares are recorded in our records as the area where apricot trees are planted. This corresponds to 19 percent of the agricultural area. Therefore, apricot is a very important agricultural product for our province."
Stating that Malatya also has an important place in the production of dried apricots, Baruş said, "About 90 percent of Turkey's dried apricot production is met by Malatya. About 67 percent of the world's dried apricot production is met by our province. Therefore, not only in Turkey, but also in Turkey. "We are an unrivaled province in the field of dried apricots in the world. When we look at the amount of dried apricots exported from Turkey, it is 93 thousand 692 tons according to 2018 figures. 90 percent of this is met from Malatya. Our dried apricot exports are 253 million 901 thousand dollars in 2018." he said.
Reminding that the number of apricot trees in Malatya 40 years ago was approximately 893 thousand, this figure increased to 5 million 643 thousand in 2000, 6 million 912 thousand in 2010, 7 million 678 thousand in 2017, and 7 million 800 thousand according to the determinations made as of today. recorded rise.
Mentioning the estimated apricot harvest for 2019, Baruş said:
"We estimate that the production of fresh apricots will be 391 thousand 792 tons. We estimate that the amount of apricots to be consumed as fresh is 41 thousand 122 tons, and after this is deducted, we estimate that it will be around 350 thousand 570 tons for drying. 87 thousand 642 tons of dried apricots are obtained from these 350 thousand tons of fresh apricots. In the lowland regions where apricots are grown intensively, partial damage occurred due to snowfall on March 23-24, and in the high regions on April 21-22, followed by cold and frost. Quality losses have occurred. Especially in the apricot flower and fruit period, depending on the long-term rains, it has been observed that fertilization problems in flowers, monilial disease in trees and freckle disease are effective in fruits, although the density varies from place to place. These factors have been taken into account in the estimates."
Noting that Malatya apricot received the European Union Geographical Indication Registration Certificate in 2017, Baruş said, "After Gaziantep baklava and Aydın figs, apricot is the third product to receive a Geographical Indication Registration Certificate from the European Union. Logos representing geographical indications have been produced. They can be used in export transactions and even The Chamber of Commerce and Industry will make the necessary attempts to use it in products sold within the country," he said.
Baruş, a journalist said, "There hasn't been an apricot festival in Malatya for a long time. To the question of whether there will be a study about the festival, he said, "I think that the apricot festival constitutes an important occasion for the promotion of apricots. Not only apricots, but also gastronomy culture is very rich in Malatya. Maybe better studies can be made about the use of apricot in gastronomic cuisine. Our evaluations at this point. It continues. It will definitely be announced in the coming period. Of course, the main organizers of these local organizations, fairs and festivals are local governments. As the governorship, we are ready to provide all kinds of support."