The harbinger of spring, apricots, has started to appear on the stalls. Apricots experiencing low yields due to frost are finding buyers at 450 lira per kilogram. The apricot harvest has started in Silifke district of Mersin. Depending on its quality, apricots are finding buyers between 150 and 450 lira per kilogram. Packaged products are not only sold in the domestic market but also exported to Holland, Germany, England, Dubai, and Arab countries. Zeynep Akay, who has been producing apricots for about 35 years, pointed out the low yield this year. Akay said, “We were harvesting about 12 tons of apricots annually on our 10-acre land. However, this year, due to the cold and harsh winter, we could only obtain 2 tons of product. Considering labor costs, this season was quite difficult for us.” “DEMAND EXISTS BUT WE CANNOT MEET IT SUFFICIENTLY” Apricot trader Burhan Özgen also mentioned the difficulties in the export process. Özgen said, “I have been trading apricots for 4-5 years. But this year, the harvest is only one-third of last year’s. Export has just started; we are sending apricots to Holland, Germany, England, Dubai, and Arab countries. However, the prices are very low, and the other side demands higher quality products. We are having difficulties because they do not offer a price. Both us traders and the producers are affected by this process. There is demand, but we cannot meet it sufficiently yet.”