Turkiye: Dried tomato harvest started in Manisa

Ersan ERDOĞAN/MANİSA, Tomatoes harvested in an area of 26 thousand decares in MANİSA have begun to be spread on exhibitions prepared in the fields for drying. While Gediz Plain turns red, dried tomatoes are exported to various countries, especially the Philippines, Netherlands, Latvia, Lithuania, Thailand and Greece. While 1 million 150 thousand 67 tons of dried tomatoes were exported in 2023, 277 thousand 47 tons of dried tomatoes were exported as of June 2024. Dried tomato work has started in Saruhanlı and Turgutlu districts of Manisa, one of the important centers of dried tomatoes in Turkey. In the city, where tomato paste is available on an area of 104 thousand 410 decares, tomatoes collected on 26 thousand decares have started to be spread on the fields for drying. Tomatoes collected by workers in the field are cut by hand in some fields, and laid out in the sun by machine in some fields. After the salting process, the tomatoes are left to dry for 1 week and are then ...