The first harvested tomatoes of the season from greenhouses in Antalya will go to the domestic market, and the price will not fall below 0.55 USD/kg. The quantity of tomatoes harvested will increase when the weather gets colder. The growers said that tomato prices will increase with the cooling of the weather.
Okan Basak, a tomato producer in a 16-decare area in Aksu's Topalli District, declared that they had their first harvest in their greenhouse and that the collected products would be sold in the country.
Basak said, "We are doing the first harvest of the year today. Initially, we can get 1.5 tons of product per 1,000 square meters. We take the tomatoes we collect to the market. The first harvests are sold domestically. The upcoming harvests will be sold to the foreign markets in the coming days as the quality is a little low in the first harvest."
Stating that exports will increase with the arrival of cold weather, Basak said, "We think that demand will increase and prices will increase due to the Russia-Ukraine war and the energy crisis in Europe. If we calculate the seedling, fertilizer, pesticide, fuel, and labor costs as a grower, the selling price of tomatoes should not be less than 0.55 USD/kg. In the season, we harvest 8-10 tons of tomatoes per 1,000 square meters. We aim to harvest 160 tons of tomatoes in 1.6 hectares this season."
Source: Kent 59