This year has seen an uplift in sales of traditional products such as mince pies and an increase in the different types of Christmas puddings. The close proximity to Christmas and the annual seasonal break in the UK means that major retailers are now selling their highest levels of dried...

Prices of Turkish sultanas and raisins have continued to firm with major packers reporting difficulties in obtaining good quality raw material from local farmers. The total Turkish crop is reported to be much smaller this year, but even so it is still early in the season for such significant price...

The 2018 International seedless Dried Grape Producing Countries Conference was held in Windsor UK on October 26, chaired by Dappie Smit from South Africa. This year`s conference was well attended with delegates from California, Australia, Turkey, South Africa, Chile and Argentina. Unfortunately, Iran, India, China and Greece were not represented...

Turkish raisins continue to represent good value for money for the UK buyers. Genuine Turkish seedless raisins are currently being quoted between USD2,100-2,200 per tonne fob Izmir for shipment through until the New year. There is a continuing issue that darker-coloured Turkish sultanas are often substituted as raisins but are...

Turkish sultana and raisin prices have firmed slightly over the past few days following the improvement in the exchange rate of the Turkish lira against the US dollar. This has changed from a low of TRY6.3 to USD1.00 to TRY5.60/USD1.00, which in theory should increase the export price of dried...