Dried Fig Exports Run to 250 Million Dollars

The Aegean Dried Fruits and Products Exporters' Association mobilized to improve the quality of dried figs, the fruit of paradise, which earns Turkey 250 million dollars annually, and to prevent the formation of aflatoxin and ochratoxin.

Aegean exporters distributed 20 thousand fig drying crayfish, 16 thousand sour beetle attractant bait traps, 650 thousand cow nets and 5 thousand 300 harvest nets in Aydın and İzmir production areas in order to prevent the dried figs from returning from export markets due to aflatoxin and ochratoxin. .

Pointing out that Turkey is the world leader in the production and export of dried figs, Aegean Dried Fruits and Products Exporters' Association Chairman Birol Celep said that the 2021/22 season is rapidly approaching in dried figs, that they have been mobilizing their resources for many years to ensure the highest quality in dried figs, crayfish, sourness beetle. He noted that they used a budget of 1,6 million TL for attractive bait trap, cow net and harvest net.

Informing that Turkey entered the 2020/21 season with a yield forecast of 85 thousand tons and an export target of 60 thousand tons of dried figs, Celep said, “In the period from September 30, 2020, when the dried fig export season started, to August 7, 2021, 64 thousand 747 tons of dried figs were exported. We achieved 233 million 293 thousand dollars foreign exchange income. Even though our dried fig harvest is 2019 thousand tons lower than the 20-5 season, our dried fig exports maintained the same level as in the 2019-20 season in terms of quantity, and our foreign currency income increased by 4 percent. We aim to close the 2020/21 season with 250 million dollars of exports. On the basis of quantity, we will reach the range of 67-68 thousand tons. We will exceed our goals. The work we have done for the production of high quality dried figs has a great share in this success.”

Explaining that they distribute the drying trays according to the farmer registration system records of the producers, under the coordination of the Provincial and District Directorates of Agriculture and Forestry, according to the yield amount in Aydın and İzmir, where dried figs are produced, Mayor Celep thanked the officials of the Provincial and District Directorates of Agriculture and Forestry for their contributions.

Germany, France and the USA are the top three countries in dried fig exports.

In the 2020/21 season, the countries that exported the most figs from Turkey were Germany, France and the USA. Dried figs worth 33 million dollars were sent to all three countries from Turkey. 3 countries demanded 43 percent of our dried figs.

While dried figs were exported to 113 countries from Turkey, the other prominent countries were the Netherlands with 11 million dollars, Canada with 9,7 million dollars, Japan with 8 million dollars and England with 7 million dollars.