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SerbiaEconomy6 days ago

From Staple to Luxury: Olive Oil Prices Become Symbol of Inflation-Hit Turkey

In southern Turkey, near Adana, Yusuf Kenan Eren and his wife Gulbin have been cultivating olives on 130 acres for two decades. The region is historically significant for olive cultivation, with olive oil having cultural and economic importance for thousands of years. However, despite winning a Gold Award for their extra virgin olive oil at the Afro-Asian International Olive Oil Competition in 2025, the couple struggles to make a profit due to rising costs such as labor, transportation, electricity, fertilizers, and packaging. These increased expenses are largely attributed to the depreciation

Across 130 acres near the city of Adana in southern Turkey, olives are emerging on some 3,700 trees cultivated by Yusuf Kenan Eren and his wife, Gulbin, for the past two decades.

The Eastern Mediterranean, where Adana is located, is an ideal place to grow olives, the fruit central to Anatolian culture for over 6,000 years.

From ancient Troy and Ephesus to Ottoman kitchens, lighting and medicine, olive oil has long symbolised health and prosperity. Now, however, the Erens say they barely break even.

Extra virgin olive oil bearing Yusuf’s name collected a Gold Award at the Afro-Asian International Olive Oil Competition in 2025, but, according to Gulbin, “we’re not making money” after factoring in the cost of labour, transportation, electricity for pressing and cooling, fertiliser and packaging, all of which are on the rise mainly due to the weakness of the Turkish lira against the US dollar.

Read the full article at Balkan Insight (BIRN) →

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Balkan Insight (BIRN)IndependentCenter6 days ago
From Staple to Luxury: Olive Oil Prices Become Symbol of Inflation-Hit Turkey

In southern Turkey, near Adana, Yusuf Kenan Eren and his wife Gulbin have been cultivating olives on 130 acres for two decades. The region is historically significant for olive cultivation, with olive oil having cultural and economic importance for thousands of years. However, despite winning a Gold Award for their extra virgin olive oil at the Afro-Asian International Olive Oil Competition in 2025, the couple struggles to make a profit due to rising costs such as labor, transportation, electricity, fertilizers, and packaging. These increased expenses are largely attributed to the depreciation

Bias read (Center): The article provides a factual account of the challenges faced by olive farmers in Turkey due to inflation and currency devaluation. It does not present any overtly biased language, one-sided sourcing, or editorializing. The focus is on the economic impact on a specific industry without taking a立场.