Adana Targets 135,000-Tonne Peanut Harvest as Yields Recover
Peanut harvesting has begun in Adana, which supplies about 60% of Turkey’s demand. The province targets 135,000 tonnes after planted area expanded to 252,000 decares and yields reached 500-600 kilograms per decare.
Harvest starts on the coast
Peanut harvesting has begun in the coastal districts of Adana, Turkey’s largest producing province for the crop. According to Akdeniz Gerçek, the first fields are being harvested around Karataş, before operations move inland across the plain over the coming weeks.
Adana accounts for about 60% of Turkey’s peanut needs, making the provincial harvest a major factor in domestic supply. Farmers planted 252,000 decares this season, and the province is targeting total production of 135,000 tonnes. Tractors enter the fields early in the morning to lift the crop, which is then transported to factories in neighboring Osmaniye for processing.
Cooler, wetter weather supports yields
Growing conditions have improved from last season, when high temperatures and drought reduced output. Cooler and rainier weather this year has lifted yields to between 500 and 600 kilograms per decare, according to the report. That range, applied across the planted area, is consistent with a substantial recovery in provincial production.
Yüreğir Chamber of Agriculture Chairman Mehmet Akın Doğan said the planted area increased from 211,000 decares last year to 252,000 decares this season. The expansion of 41,000 decares indicates that farmers maintained confidence in peanuts despite the previous season’s weather-related decline. Doğan said producers were satisfied with both current yields and prices.
Prices vary by size and quality
Farm prices currently range from 90 to 100 Turkish lira per kilogram, depending on the peanuts’ quality and size. Producer Savaş Ağırbaş, who grows peanuts on 300 decares, also reported satisfaction with yields of 500-600 kilograms per decare and prevailing prices.
The larger planted area and improved productivity should increase the volume available to domestic processors compared with last year. Because processing is concentrated in Osmaniye, the harvest will also raise seasonal demand for short-haul trucking, receiving capacity and factory throughput between Adana’s farms and neighboring processing sites. The pace at which harvesting moves from Karataş toward the plain will shape weekly arrivals.
Domestic availability set to improve
A 135,000-tonne crop would strengthen supplies for Turkish processors and buyers after last year’s heat and drought constrained the harvest. Adana’s 60% share of national requirements means any change in its production has consequences beyond the province, particularly for processors managing raw-material procurement and inventories.
The final result will still depend on harvesting conditions, crop quality and the share of peanuts meeting buyers’ size specifications. For now, the combination of expanded acreage, yields of 500-600 kilograms per decare and prices of 90-100 lira per kilogram gives farmers a more favorable start to the season than last year.
