General Otulook:

August 4, 2004


Market in general quiet. We expect more activity in September when summer holiday periode is ending.

Cumin : Somewhat weaker, no real demand. We expect slow decrease in price-level especially when demand is not firming up in the coming weeks. Product is still harvested in some regions.

Anise : Stable and new crop coming in at the moment. Yield is lower this year and we do expect a firm market for this item this season.

Fennel : New crop coming out by end of August / beginning September. Currently market empty. No good grades available anymore. Fennel crop is always small in Turkey between 2500 - 4000 M/t each seoson depending on yield.

Blue Poppy Seeds : Somewhat weaker but this all due to less activity in the market. Expect this product to rise further up in the coming months due to low stocks in Australia. However if good crop results in Eastern-Europe it may influence the price-levels to a downward trend from Turkey.

Oregano : New crop is harvested and will continue till end of August / September. Low activity reported yet and raw material prices are stable. Different grades / qualities offered. We advise you to contact us for clear information and to discuss the right grade that fits to your company / requirement.

Laurel Leaves : New crop harvesting will start in 2nd half of August. Very hard to say how this market will develop in the coming months. It is far to early.

Capers : Harvesting is still continueing untill end of August / September. We expect a more firm market for Nonpareille, Surfines en Capucines. It is a fact that people are just not willing to collect the raw material if prices are so low. Collecting capers is a very intensive work and still mostly done by villagers and children during their school holdiays. Depending on the yield of the plant a person might pick 2 up to 4 Kg. a day. With temperatures now rising to 35 up to 40 degrees it is not a very pleasant work. Also the caper plant is a thorny bush which makes it even more difficult to collect especially the smaller sized buds.

Sun Dried Tomatoes : Weather conditions favourable for the exporters. Quality of the tomatoes is good this season. Drying will last till last week of August. In september it is very risky due to higher chances for rain and the dew in the early morning is not an advantage.

Dutch Silverskin Onions : New crop harvested in Holland. Please contact us for firm quotes / info.


Please do not hesitate to contact us should you require any more information or firm C + F quotes for above products.