Heavy rainfalls in Izmir's Menemen district caused the Gediz River to flood and damage spinach fields over 3 to 4 thousand hectares. Farmers said that the prices may increase.
Izmir has received an unusual amount of rainfall for three days. Heavy rains increased the level of water in the dams and almost all fields in the area flooded.
"Prices will increase"
Menemen is top producer of spinach in Turkey. Farmers in the area complained that their products are under water and that they will have big losses. Ali Altunkaynak, a farmer, emphasized that they meet 70% of the spinach demand and said: "The water is 2 meters high in our fields. There is nothing left of our products. Before the rains, spinach was 2 - 2,5 Lira (0,33 - 0,42 Euro) and now it is 6 - 7 Lira (1 - 1,17 Euro). Since there is a shortage of spinach, prices will increase."
Another farmer Erdal Uray said that they haven't seen a rainfall like this in 30 years, and added: "We grow spinach, broccoli and cabbage in the area but all of them are under water now. We expect the prices to skyrocket and be at least 2 or 3 times more than usual, because there is no production and all the products are under water. There is no way we can save our products."
Metin Karagol, head of Menemen's trade chamber pointed out to the magnitude of the damage and said: "Our district is the top producer of spinach in the country. Besides spinach, we also grow broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower but they were all damaged by the heavy rains."
Source: Hurriyet