Lemon harvest begins in Mersin, prices drop to 6 TL

The lemon harvest season has begun intensively in the Erdemli district of Mersin. Workers entering the orchards in the early hours of the morning carefully collect the lemons, place them into baskets and crates, and then send them to sorting facilities to be prepared for the market or transport to storage.

'6 TL PER KILO'

Lemon producer Nurettin Doğan, who made a statement regarding the harvest, said, "Currently, it is time to cut the lemons and the harvest process is ongoing. While some producers are taking their lemons to sell, others are preparing them for storage. We are also preparing the lemons for storage. Right now, the price of lemons in the orchard ranges between 6 and 7 TL. It is not yet clear what the prices will be in the summer. The lemons are kept in cold storage until July."

'THE SITUATION IS NOT VERY GOOD'

Mustafa Karagöz, President of the Erdemli Chamber of Commerce and Industry and owner of a citrus processing facility, stated that they are in the peak harvest period for lemons and added:

"We are not the only country in the world that produces lemons. Countries such as Egypt, Iran, China, and Spain also produce them. Except for Spain, the other countries are in a more advantageous position than us because their costs are much lower. In our country, unfortunately, while products are cheap, costs are high. As long as we cannot lower costs, our chances of competing both in the domestic market and abroad decrease. It is not possible to carry out this business without support. Support needs to be provided on a product basis. For example, support should be given to whichever product is not profitable this year. It is very clear that support should be given to lemons this year as well. Because the situation of the lemon is not very promising."

News Source: İHA