Ottoman strawberries grown in the Eregli district of Zonguldak, are famous for their unique color, taste and smell and have started to be sold even before the harvest has begun. The expectation for the price is around 6. 25 USD per kg at the very least.
The harvest season is about to start and even though the demand for this particular variety of strawberry is very high, the production is still quite limited. Consequently the price per kg will be around 6-7 USD range whereas other strawberry varieties from the region are sold at 0.3 – 1.25 USD range per kg.
Eregli Ottoman Strawberry Growers Association President, Saban Cetinkaya, said, “We have planted a lot of strawberry seeds to prevent the decline in production of this particular variety. We are planning to train other growers as well and distribute 10,000 seeds for the production to ensure better production numbers next season.
The strawberries are sold off the fields even before the harvest. One of the most distinctive qualities of this variety is its strong aroma and taste. It was used extensively in the past for dinner tables of Ottoman Sultans. It has a very special taste. But the production numbers keep declining and as an association we are trying to stop this trend in the production. One of the main complaints we had received in the past was the lack of seeds for this variety but we started to grow our own seeds and overcome this problem finally.
The product is in high demand in the market and we cannot even come close to fulfilling the market demand at this point. The harvest will start in about 30 – 35 days. If we can increase the production, there are many ready buyers locally and internationally to purchase these products. Thanks to our efforts, we are expecting to reverse the trend in declining production and have a 10 to 20 % increase. This new trend will hopefully continue in the upcoming years. Also this variety has a very stable price range whereas the other strawberry varieties go for much lower prices in the market due to high supply.”
Source: Haberturk