Local garlic hurt by Chinese rival

KASTAMONU - Anatolia News Agency

Chinese garlic exports have hurt garlic farmers in Turkey’s Black Sea province of Kastamonu’s Taşköprü district, Taşköprü Chamber of Agriculture President Murat Çelik has said.

At the beginning of the season, large-size quality garlic could sell for seven or eight Turkish Liras per head, but this has now dropped to roughly three liras, said Çelik.

Farmers in the region grew 16,000-18,000 tons of garlic in 2011, but they are now left with 6,000 tons which they have not been able to unload, he added.

Çelik said morale was low among the famers. “[They] don’t want to be forced to dump the garlic, so they have been forced to lower prices and sell the garlic no matter what,” he said.