Unlike sulphered apricots, the natural apricots are not treated with Sulpher Dioxide, hence they are unable to retain their natural colour.
Although there is a wrongful assumption that the natural apricots are of inferior quality, this is purely due to the fact that they may not look very appealing to the eye of the customer. On the other hand since they stay longer under the sun, the sugar inside the fruits starts caramelising which creates a unique flavour unbeatable by suplhered apricots.