Manisa Raisin Growers Await TMO and TARİŞ Prices as Harvest Advances

Price decision becomes the next market signal

Grape producers in Manisa, one of Turkey’s main production centers, are waiting for the Turkish Grain Board, known as TMO, and agricultural cooperative TARİŞ to announce advance payments and purchase prices for the new dried-grape season. Cutting and export dates for Sultani Seedless grapes have already been announced, shifting attention to the price decisions that will influence sales during the harvest.

Growers in Sarıgöl, an important production district in Manisa, want the dried-grape floor price to be published as soon as possible. Fresh-grape cutting has begun in local vineyards, but producers say the absence of a dried-grape reference price makes it harder to assess offers and choose between selling grapes fresh or processing them into raisins.

Raisin price also guides fresh-grape negotiations

Producers say they use the dried-grape floor price when setting prices for fresh grapes. An early announcement would therefore affect more than purchases by TMO and TARİŞ: it would provide a benchmark for transactions involving fresh grapes sold to the domestic market or prepared for export.

Growers have completed preparations to send higher-quality grapes from the Sarıgöl Plain to export markets and domestic buyers as fresh produce. They argue that a prompt announcement would give the market clearer direction at a time when harvesting, fresh sales and decisions over drying are taking place simultaneously.

Production costs are another central concern. Growers say the announced price must allow them to receive a return for their work, although the available reports do not provide cost estimates or an expected price range. Producers across Manisa and its surrounding districts have joined calls for TMO and TARİŞ to publish the new-season prices without delay.

Harvest could continue through year-end

Harvesting of Manisa’s Sultani Seedless grapes is continuing in Sarıgöl. Cutting is progressing at different times across the plain according to how quickly grapes mature in each area, and the harvest season is expected to last until the end of the year.

The eventual price announcement will help determine how the fresh- and dried-grape markets develop during that extended season. For growers, traders and processors, the benchmark will influence negotiations, product allocation and the timing of sales. For exporters, greater price clarity will make it easier to assess supply from Manisa, although no export volume, destination data or price forecast was included in the reports.