The first almond bloom harvest in Turkey took place in Mersin

In the district of Silifke in Mersin, the first harvest of almonds has begun, with each kilogram being sold for one thousand Turkish Lira. The first spring fruit of the Aegean and Mediterranean regions, almond bloom, has started to appear on the market stalls. With the warming weather, the first almond bloom harvest took place early in Silifke, Mersin. Completely organic and especially cultivated for commercial purposes in coastal areas, the kilogram of almond bloom finds buyers at 1000 TL on the stalls. Compared to previous years, almond bloom sales have started 20 days earlier, bringing smiles to the faces of producers

Işıklı Neighborhood Headman Zafer Can noted that people are buying almond bloom in grams for tasting rather than purchasing it by the kilogram. Can stated, "It is produced entirely under natural conditions. There are no pesticides, no fertilizers. We cultivate it entirely naturally and organically. It is the livelihood of our village. We have a project as the Işıklı Environmental Cooperation and Tourism Association. There are thousands of hectares of vacant land in the highlands. We want to plant almond trees there. Currently, we have a production of around 100 tons. We sell it at 1000 liras per kilogram. However, for those who cannot afford to buy it by the kilo, we sell 100-gram packages for 100 liras."

Can explained that the price is a bit high because almond bloom is newly harvested, stating, "People are interested in almond bloom. It's gratifying for our sales. As it is the first ripe fruit of the season, the price is a bit high, so almond bloom enthusiasts are purchasing it in 100-gram portions instead of by the kilogram. We expect prices to decrease as almond bloom harvesting increases in the coming days."

Zafer Can emphasized that almond bloom is highly sought after due to being the first fruit of the season, stating, "We will move into full harvest with the almond bloom festival on March 9th.