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Dried apricots: market governed by uncertainty

June 9, 2020 at 10:23 AM , Der AUDITOR
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MALATYA. Harvesting is underway in some parts of Turkey. Dried apricot production is to start soon. Market players still disagree over the size of production.

Disagreement over production

Dried apricot production is to start in seven to ten days in Malatya. Production normally lasts until the end of August. Official production estimates have still not been issued and estimates currently range in a wide gap of 80,000-120,000 metric tonnes. A difference of 40,000 metric tonnes, however, has a large impact on prices. Estimates rangeing as low as 70,000-80,000 metric tonnes have recently also given rise to discussion. The picture is far from clear as to what to expect in the new season. Market players so far only agree on the good quality of the fruit. Provided that there are no excessive rains, which could prolong the drying, the quality should remain promising. A high proportion of large fruits is, in addition, to be expected due to the smaller number of fruit sets.

Exchange rate fluctuations cause problems

The volatility of the Turkish lira in recent months has prompted additional uncertainty. Problem is that prices have differed by as much as USD 400 per metric tonne within only one month, a situation that spells disaster for many market players. Nominal rises are currently to be observed in the export market.

Dried apricots, Turkey

Size

USD/mt

EUR/mt

No 2

3,250

2,879

No 4

2,950

2,613

No 6

2,800

2,480

No 8

2,400

2,126

FOB Mersin, 2,000 ppm

Limited carry-over stocks expected

Turkey has shipped 88,374 metric tonnes of dried apricots and dried apricot products overseas since the beginning of the season, nearly 3,000 metric tonnes less than one year ago. Domestic consumption ranges at 10,000 metric tonnes. Exports may climb to 100,000 metric tonnes by the end of the season. Carry-over supplies are, therefore, expected to be limited. Last week, 1,028 metric tonnes were shipped overseas, more than twice as much as in the same period last year. This rise is mainly attriubuted to the celebrations marking the end of Ramadan.

Dried apricot exports in mt

Type

2019/20

2018/19

Whole

75,449

75,340

Industrial

6,996

9,639

Diced

5,929

6,261

Total

88,374

91,240

Since the start of the season

Attached Files

File icon
price chart apricots dried no 2 Turkey
File icon
price chart apricots dried no 4 Turkey

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