Isparta apple producers face bankruptcy due to rising costs

Hikmet Yalım Halıcı, an Isparta deputy for the Yeni Parti, addressed the economic crisis facing apple producers during a session of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. He reported that producers are struggling with low purchase prices and surging input costs, including electricity, diesel, fertilizer, and pesticides.

Halıcı highlighted a significant price disparity, noting that while industrial-grade apples are being sold for 3-4 lira per kilogram and table apples struggle to find buyers even at 10-15 lira, the same products retail in markets for 70-80 lira. He warned that the current situation is driving farmers toward bankruptcy, stating that even if producers sell their entire industrial crop, they cannot cover their diesel expenses.

To mitigate the crisis, Halıcı called for per-ton support for apple exports and requested that apple juice concentrate be included in government support programs. He emphasized that since Isparta produces one in every four apples in Turkey, the economic instability of these producers threatens both the regional economy and the future of national agricultural production.