The first harvest of the year has begun: Products found buyers at a high price

'Cristobalina' variety cherries grown in the Sancaklıbozköy and Sancaklıiğdecik neighborhoods of Manisa were harvested by producers Recep Ateş, Celil Görmez, İrfan Coşkuner, and Yusuf Bakar. The first batch of approximately 50 kilograms of produce was brought to the purchasing center, where it was sold to merchant Barış Akay through a symbolic auction.

Manisa Provincial Director of Agriculture and Forestry Metin Öztürk stated that Manisa takes pride in growing the first cherries of the year, just as it does every year. Öztürk said, 'It is not easy to bring this product to market on April 13. I thank all our farmers. I hope we will have a fruitful season and export our early-harvest cherries to world markets.'

Manisa ranks second in Turkey with more than 2 million 800 thousand cherry trees. This highlights the region's importance in cherry production. Öztürk emphasized that early-harvest cherries are a high-value-added product.

Hayrettin Uçak, President of the Aegean Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Exporters' Association, congratulated the producers and recalled that 210 million dollars worth of cherry exports were made last year. Stating that expectations have decreased this year due to agricultural frost, Uçak said, 'I hope there has not been a severe cold snap and the product has not been damaged. We remain hopeful nonetheless.'