Thyme: Turkey earned 1 billion liras

OGM continues its inventory and utilization studies for thyme as one of the most famous and widely used spices in the world. According to the data of OGM, there are 55 thousand tons of usable thyme in a forest area of 340 thousand hectares. Thyme, which starts from sea level and continues to an altitude of 1,500 meters in the Aegean, Mediterranean and Marmara regions, is a very resistant plant against heat and drought. The thyme harvesting process is between the beginning of flowering and the full bloom period, according to the species, in the spring and usually in the summer months. Especially in the afternoon collections, mostly essential oil is produced. As of the end of 2020, the contribution of 2,200 tons of thyme to the country's economy, which is made to benefit from forest areas, was 1 billion TL. According to the data of the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), a foreign exchange inflow of 69 million dollars was provided in return for 19,771 tons of thyme exports last ...