Harvest of spinach, a staple of winter tables, proves challenging
In Bilecik, workers, mostly women, are harvesting approximately 50 tons of spinach per day in the fields despite the cold weather. Fresh spinach, which leaves the fields at an average price of 10-12 liras, reaches customers in many provinces across Turkey.
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Producers across Bilecik province, who plant spinach in September, continue production until the end of June. An average of 1,800 tons is harvested annually across 1,560 decares in the province. Farmers in Büyük Yenice Village, located in the Osmaneli district where a large portion of this production takes place, can harvest three times a year from the same land if they harvest early.
Workers who arrive early in the morning at the village, where 500 tons of spinach are harvested annually, pull the spinach that has matured despite the harsh conditions of the winter season. Struggling due to the cold weather, the workers warm themselves by lighting fires where they work. The harvested spinach is packed into crates and sent to wholesale markets in major cities by truck. While a kilogram of spinach finds buyers at the field for 10-12 liras, the harvested spinach is also sent to the Bayrampaşa and Kadıköy wholesale markets in Istanbul, as well as to the surrounding provinces of Ankara and Eskişehir.
"OUR PRICES ARE GOOD, THEY BRING SMILES TO FACES, RANGING BETWEEN 10-12 LIRAS"
Muhammet Bal, an official at the Osmaneli Municipality wholesale market, who visited the workers during the harvest and provided information about the process, said, "We are at a spinach field in the Osmaneli district of Bilecik. Our soil is more productive regarding spinach this year. We are shipping to every part of Turkey. We distribute to all of Turkey, especially from Istanbul, Bayrampaşa. It also goes to surrounding provinces. Our spinach is fresh. We provide 4-5 truck shipments every day. Our prices are good, they bring smiles to faces. It ranges between 10-12 liras. The producer is satisfied, the worker is satisfied, the buyer is satisfied. Everyone is satisfied."