Turkish Sultanas Market update July 2018

The Turkish Sultana market has shown some weakness in the last week due to some traders offering material across the market to packers, given activity and availability has been negligible in the last few weeks this unexpected move has led to raw material prices falling slightly. The export price has held somewhat firm due to the Lira v US Dollar rate fluctuating on a daily/hourly basis which of course makes packers nervous about having offers open for prolonged periods.

New crop development is progressing very well and harvest is still expected to begin between 10 to 14 days earlier than last year. Reports about the size of new crop from Turkey varies across packers & traders ranging from 270,000 tonnes up to 320,000 tonnes. The official crop estimate is due at some point during August, it came out mid-end August last year, and this will undoubtedly shape where prices will go. Demand for new crop shipments is expected to be as high as traditionally experienced and does usually force prices to increase initially after harvest. Once this demand has subsided everything we’re seeing at the moment would suggest prices have the capability to subsided end 2018, subject to currency in Turkey & here in the UK.