Low Expectations for Apricot Harvest This Year in Earthquake Region Malatya

Expecting a serious decrease in apricot yield this year in Malatya, which is an earthquake zone, Yunus Kılınç, Head of Provincial Coordination of the Chambers of Agriculture, said, “We have 70 percent damage in apricot production this year. We regret to express that our apricot harvest will be around 55-60 thousand tons.”

Making a statement together with the heads of the district chambers of agriculture in Malatya, the Head of the Provincial Coordination of the Chambers of Agriculture, Yunus Kılıç, stated that as farmers, they continued to produce after the earthquake, even though it was difficult, and stated that the apricot was also affected by the disaster this year.

Stating that the support must continue for them to continue production, Kılınç said that this year the apricots in the plains of Malatya were damaged by agricultural frost, and some of them did not produce due to pollination in the trees. Stating that there is flower rot in many trees and the emergence of some diseases, a low yield in apricot this season is inevitable, Kılınç said, “Agricultural chambers make the best yield determination. Because there are chambers of agriculture in every district, give the councils, we will know how many apricot trees are in which garden. “We know. A harvest has started, determinations are being made now. However, we have 70 percent damage in our own opinion. We do not count the hail wounds, but we regret to express that our apricot harvest will be around 55-60 thousand tons,” he said.

Stating that this expectation is now purely estimation, Kılınç said that showing high yield would harm the producer and that they were following this issue.

Drawing attention to another problem faced by the earthquake-affected producers in Malatya this year, Kılınç said that the wheat, barley and lentil harvest has started but they do not have warehouses to store them. Stating that some warehouses were demolished and the remaining ones were used as warehouses, Kılınç said, “We placed the household items of our relatives and relatives in our warehouses that were not destroyed in our villages. We have no warehouse to store a handful of grain. We will harvest the wheat, where will we store it, where will we store it for safety? “It’s raining and where are we going to dump so much harvest. The Turkish Grain Board should make purchases as soon as possible, especially in the earthquake zone. When purchasing, it should be taken directly from the field to the office,” he said.