The Turkish pomegranate season has begun with the early varieties, but lower volumes are expected due to the weather conditions the fruit trees had to endure in 2024, says Kerem Tümen, export manager for Turkish fresh produce trader Tümen Tarim: "The citrus season could become a difficult one, so we'll have our main focus on the current pomegranate season this year. The season started with the harvest of the Early Wonderful variety, which started in September. Next week, the harvest of the Hicaz pomegranates will commence. We expect lower volumes overall for the Turkish pomegranates, as the frost of 2024 still affects the current production. The frost actually impacted not only the fruits of 2024, but also the fruit trees themselves, causing less flowering even for the current season."
© Nick Peters | FreshPlaza.com
As can be expected, with lower availability comes stronger demand, and it's no different for the current pomegranate season, Tümen explains. "Demand for pomegranates is stronger than last season, which undoubtedly has to do with the lower availability this year in both Turkey as well as European countries. Local Turkish demand is also high this year, due to the low volumes of other Turkish fruits. This is also the case for industrial quality fruits, which basically means that households will start looking for alternatives and finding the pomegranate a suitable option."
"Overall, we expect to head into a positive season for the pomegranates, despite the lower production," Tümen concludes.
For more information:
Kerem Tümen
Tumen Tarim
Tel: +90 32 44 54 00 88
Mob: +90 53 25 93 69 70
[email protected]
www.tumen-tarim.com