The early harvest of cherries in Gazipasa, a town in Antalya, continues apace. The early harvest had started at mid-April when the price was around 5 USD per kg however it is now at 4 USD per kg. The price is expected to go down to 1.5 USD per kg level as the season progresses. The growers added that due to climatic conditions, the production will be lower this year.
Cherries are grown at 500 – 800 altitude in an area of 25 million square feet. Annually 1,600 tons of cherries are grown in the town. According to the growers The biggest problem in the area is irrigation and the growers have asked for the local municipality to step in and solve this problem. Currently growers claim that they barely earn any money and, due to climatic conditions, some growers were only able to reach 50% of the production volume of last year. The growers also noted that the costs of cherry growing were too expensive and fertilizer prices were especially high.
Source: Hurriyet