Like many European countries, this year’s olive harvest in Turkey is not meeting expectations, reports the Turkish daily Hürriyet.
Over the past month the wholesale price of extra virgin olive oil rose from 7.5 to 10 Turkish Lira ($3.32 to $4.42). Some Turkish olive producers are waiting before parting with their crop, hoping prices will rise further and they can cash in on high international demand for olive oil following devastating harvests in Italy and Spain.
See Also:Complete Coverage of the 2014 Harvest
Meanwhile, if the retail price climbs about 20 Lira, there are fears that consumers may stay away from the product, according to Cahit Çetin of Taris, an olive and olive oil cooperative. He added that prices in Turkey are influenced by the Spanish and Italian markets, where record low crops are pushing up the price of olive oil, and that even though the olive harvest is still in progress in Turkey, high demand has driven the price up.
According to the latest IOC estimates, Turkey is expected to produce 190,000 tons of olive oil this year.
The head of the Union of Aegean Olive and Olive Oil Exporters, Gürkan Renkilağ, warned that Turkey risks losing foreign markets for its olive oil because current prices, at about 1 Euro higher than other markets, are not favorable for exports. He appealed to the ministry of agriculture to double government support to avoid losing markets in the US, China, Japan and Saudi Arabia.
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