Summer potato harvest begins in Sandıklı with output reaching markets across Turkey
The summer potato harvest has started in Sandıklı, the leading production district in Afyonkarahisar province. Local producer İsmail Özel reports 80,000-100,000 decares of potato planting in the district and a shelf life of about two months for the summer crop.
Harvest starts in Afyonkarahisar’s main potato district
Turkey’s summer potato harvest is under way in Sandıklı, a district of Afyonkarahisar province and one of the country’s most important potato-growing areas. Farmers are lifting the summer crop from the district’s dark soils, while preparations are being made to begin work on the winter crop in the following month.
Memleket reports that Sandıklı potatoes are being dispatched to consumers across Turkey. The crop’s color, flavor and storage performance have helped it attract demand in the domestic market, giving the district a central role in supplying potatoes beyond its immediate region.
Plantings cover up to 100,000 decares in Sandıklı
Producer İsmail Özel said approximately 250,000 decares are planted with potatoes each year across Afyonkarahisar. He placed the province among Turkey’s three leading potato-producing areas and described Sandıklı as the main production center within the province. Potato planting in the district covers approximately 80,000-100,000 decares.
Özel said his operation produces potatoes on about 35,000 decares annually and handles a commercial volume of 40,000-50,000 tonnes. The figures show the scale of individual farming and trading activity supporting Sandıklı’s position in the national potato sector. Neither source provided an estimate for the district’s total harvest from the current summer crop or information on farm-gate prices.
Two-month shelf life supports wider distribution
Storage life is the main feature distinguishing Sandıklı’s summer potatoes, according to the producers cited by Memleket and Mersin Haber. Özel said summer potatoes grown in İzmir’s Ödemiş district can remain usable for no more than 10 days, while potatoes from Sandıklı retain their freshness for approximately two months. He attributed the difference to Sandıklı’s dense, dark soil, which also influences the potatoes’ color and taste.
A shelf life of about two months gives growers and traders more time to grade, store and distribute the crop within Turkey. It can also reduce the urgency to sell immediately after lifting, although the sources supplied no data on storage costs, spoilage rates or price differences between production regions. With the summer harvest continuing and work on the winter crop due to start the following month, Sandıklı is entering a period of overlapping field and marketing activity that will shape potato availability in the domestic market.
