Turquia: News about potato production across the country

The price at the grower is around 0.25 USD per kg whereas at retail the sale price is around 0.40 USD per kg.

Potato harvesting has also started in the Ahlat town of Bitlis, a city located in southeastern Turkey. Bitlis is responsible for 5 % of the country’s potato production and 75 % of the potato production in the region.

Growers note that this year the harvest has proved to be very productive so far and that they expect around 170,000 tons of potatoes to be harvested this season. Ahlat is known for its fertile agricultural fields where other agricultural products such as wheat, chick peas, sunflower, barley, tomato and beans are also grown. Agricultural production remains the life blood of the local economy as many families depend on it as their main source of income. It is estimated that around 10,000 jobs are created in the area thanks to agricultural production.

Extra importance has been placed on potato production this year due to high potato prices in the market throughout summer which made the product more attractive for growers.

Another harvest period has also started in the Kose town of Gumushane in northern Turkey. The expected production volume is estimated to be around 45,000 tons this year in a production area of 2,000 hectares. These figures are a slight improvement over last year’s numbers of 43,000 tons of production in 1,900 hectares. The growers note the high quality of the products grown in the area due to beneficial climate conditions; such as high temperature differences between day and night and other factors such as clean natural water resources.

The harvest is also at full speed in Nigde, located in central Turkey which is the top potato growing city in the country. This year’s production expectation is around 750,000 tons of potatoes grown in 20,300 hectares. These figures represent a small drop from previous years. The price at the grower is around 0.15 USD per kg and potatoes are not only sold to local market but also to export destinations such as Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iraq and Syria.

Another important development in the area is the breeding of a particular national variety in Nigde Research Institute. This new variety is already trademarked under the name of “Nahita” and starting from next year it will be grown in 15 different countries. The research institute has also trademarked another 7 varieties of potatoes and they will follow the example of “Nahita” and will be developed and offered to the potato growers in the global market. 4 out of these 7 varieties are already assigned to different private companies which are tasked with the market development and trial processes. The goal at the end is to cut down the dependency on imported seeds and varieties and grow all the seeds for potato varieties in the country. Nigde as the hub of potato production in Turkey is central to these efforts.