Turkish Antep Pistachios harvest begins in mid-August every year. Harvest continues until the end of September. Some regions are hotter and drier. Turkish pistachios ripen earlier in these regions. Besides, perfect green pistachios harvest earlier than usual. Thus, the Turkish Antep pistachios harvest begins in mid-August.
And so on until all the Turkish pistachios are collected. We finished the Turkish pistachios harvest of 2021. Pistachios came to the market. But, this year’s Turkish Antep pistachios suppliers’ harvest was much lower than last year. There are several reasons for this.
What Is Low Level Yield Year Of Turkish Antep Psitachios?
Pistachio trees do not yield much every year. If the pistachio tree gives a lot of yield in a year, then it gives less yield the next year. This transformation continues every year in this way. 2021 was a less productive year for Turkish pistachio nuts.
But, 2021 was a very low yield compared to last year. In 2020, 296,000 tons of pistachios were harvested. Yet, 90,000 tons of Turkish pistachios were collected this year. This high difference is not only due to the difference between low yield years and high yield years.
The yield of 2020 has been the most productive harvest of recent years. It made everyone happy while harvesting 296,000 tons of pistachios. But in 2021, the seasons were dry. Rainfall in March, April, and May is very important for the pistachio trees. But, there was no precipitation between March and May this year. So, the Turkish pistachio yield was very low.
While growing pistachios in Iran and the USA, irrigated agriculture is practiced. Pistachio orchards are irrigated. But, irrigated agriculture corresponds to 8% of the total pistachio production in Turkey. Due to the dry season and the lack of enough rainfall, the Antep pistachio harvest is quite low. The same has happened this year.
The Antep pistachios tree produces the next year’s fruit buds this year. Since there was a drought this year, more than normal shedding was seen in the next year’s fruit buds. Next year’s Antep pistachios harvest is also expected to be lower than normal. Also, agricultural diseases in this year also reduced the yield of Turkish pistachios.
Pistachio trees, weakened and defenseless due to lack of rain, dried up. In we begin irrigated agriculture, there may be an increase of about 50-70% even in years with low yields.
This year, there have been huge increases in pistachio cost inputs. The prices of fertilizers and pesticides used in pistachio trees increased. And this increased the cost of the producer by 80%. But, pistachio prices increased by 20%. Thus, the Antep pistachio producers are not very happy with the situation.
Last year, approximately 70,000 tons of pistachios were transferred to this year. This year’s harvest is 90,000 tons. The total amount is 160,000 tons. This amount is enough for this year.
Why Increase The Number Of Antep Pistachio Trees
In the last 10 years, there has been an increase of 30% in the field of Turkish pistachios bulk production. This is a very positive development. But, it also has negative consequences. Farmers plant wheat, barley, and lentils in the Southeast Anatolian Region. In this area, they grow Turkish pistachios. The best quality durum wheat is grown in this region.
For this reason, there are many pasta factories in our region. The lentils grow in our region are of very high quality. And it is very delicious. But, prices have been very low in recent years due to lentil and wheat imports. The farmers could not earn enough money from lentils and wheat. So, they turned their lands into Turkish pistachio orchards. Pistachio production area increased. But lentil and wheat production fell.
Pistachio is a very delicate product. Producers should be careful while caring about pistachio trees. Antep Pistachio orchards establish by people who are not experts in this field. These orchards may give low yields in the long run. Thus, farmers will experience difficulties in the future.
Turkish pistachios wholesalers buy the products from farmers’ markets. Producers put some of the products for sale immediately. They dry the other products and put them in storage. Depending on the market conditions, they sell the dried pistachios at a certain time.
Turkish pistachios wholesalers buy the products and start processing. Turkish pistachio price in Turkey determines by this balance. As a result, the pistachio is a very valuable product. We need to do our best to produce more and better quality of this product. Our country is the homeland of Turkish pistachio nuts. Our total production ranks third in world production. But, the most delicious and best Turkish pistachios are grown in Gaziantep.