Sultanas: Suppliers helping themselves from the old crop
August 31, 2017 at 3:19 PM ,
Der AUDITOR
Are the commodities being stretched?
In the last few weeks, another 6,000 mt of Turkish sultanas were delivered to foreign countries, almost twice as much as last year around this time. Traders report that because of the low prices, many exporters have stocked up massively with sultanas from 2016. It remains to be seen if they will advertise these openly as commodities from the old crop or if they will be mixed in with the 2017 production.
Sultanas export in mt |
|||
Season |
mt |
Ø USD |
Ø EUR |
2016/17 |
268,266 |
1,553 |
1,297 |
2015/16 |
200,597 |
2,049 |
1,711 |
Since the beginning of the season |
Farmers want more
To still make some money before the holidays, Turkish sultana farmers were selling their commodities below their target prices. Meanwhile, they have raised the level from 4.40 TRY/kg to 5.00 TRY/kg on a trial basis. The higher wage costs for seasonal workers are supposed to be a reason for the price increase. Based on the availability and quality of the crop, however, traders consider the commodity price level to be more around 4.50 TRY/kg. For now, export prices are maintaining the same level as last week.
Sultanas, Turkey |
||
Type |
USD/mt |
EUR/mt |
Grade A, Type 8, STD |
1,400 |
1,169 |
Grade A, Type 9, STD |
1,435 |
1,199 |
Grade A, Type 10, STD |
1,500 |
1,253 |
Organic, Grade A, Type 9 |
2,150 |
1,796 |
FOB Izmir |
Time is running out
The precipitation of the last few weeks in Turkish growing regions did not have an appreciable effect on the drying of sultanas until now. Because of the holidays, farmers are having a hard time finding workers. However, the risk of additional rainfall increases with every passing day, so time is of the essence.