The harvest of cherries has started in Yesilyurt, Malatya, a city located in central Turkey. Despite the hail storms, estimated product volume is expected to be high which made growers very happy.
Yesilyurt Chamber of Agriculture Chairman Dogan Solmaz: “Despite the hailstorm which damaged up to 560 % of products in some areas, we are expecting good volume this season. As there was not a lot of rain, the products taste rather better this season.
We have taken over, at the Chamber of Agriculture, the application of insecticides, so our staff goes to farms and uses proper insecticides that have been approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and are compatible with European standards and Russian market demands. This way we are trying to protect both our growers and the consumers.
Also there is a high demand for cherry leaves in the market which housewives use in their recipes, and those leaves were also sold at 5 USD per kg last year. “
Source: Malatya Son Soz