Speaking at the ceremony, Sadık Özkasap, Chairman of the Board of Directors of our Stock Exchange, said: I would like to thank you for your invaluable interest in our 2025–2026 season's first seedless grape ceremony, which we held annually with the arrival of the first raisin, symbolizing the opening of the Manisa Sultani Seedless Grape season.

 

Welcome everyone.

 

Unfortunately, we didn't have an easy time producing Manisa Sultani Seedless Grapes this season. The severe agricultural frost that affected much of our country caused significant yield losses and financial damage in fruit production areas in Manisa. Our initially promising season expectations were significantly disrupted by this natural disaster. The impact of global climate change on agriculture has now reached an undeniable level. This pronounced climate imbalances directly threatens our agricultural production. This year, many of our vineyards and producers suffered significant damage. This naturally negatively impacted our yield. The drop in yields following the frost, economic losses, and the reduction in export potential have put the sector in many difficult situations. Despite all these challenges, we were proud to continue our tradition with you at our ceremony this year. Because we know that one of our most important duties is to convey the demands of our producers, who never resent their land, who continue to struggle with gratitude and hope for what they have, who never give up producing under any circumstances, and who work tirelessly for their families, country, and nation, to the relevant institutions and to continue to seek solutions. Thanks to this determination and perseverance, we continue to produce seedless raisins on approximately 800,000 decares of land in Turkey, as one of Turkey's largest grape production centers, with 90% of this production occurring within the provincial borders of Manisa. Despite a smaller yield compared to last year, our producers, who cherish their vineyards, demonstrate their commitment and faith in this land every day. Approximately 50,000 families rely on this land for their livelihood and remain steadfast despite all adversities.

 

On the other hand, the TARSİM insurance rate for Manisa producers is encouraging. Across Manisa, 54% of our vineyards are insured. In Saruhanlı district, where the damage was most severe, this rate is 74%. During this period, a support mechanism has been implemented not only for insured producers but also for producers who do not have agricultural frost insurance but are registered with the Farmer Registration System (ÇKS). Minister of Agriculture and Forestry İbrahim Yumaklı stated, "We will cover our producers' expenses for damaged crops based on the damage. We will continue to support our farmers with all our resources." This support provided to our producers during this challenging period is invaluable both for maintaining the strength of our agricultural sector and for raising awareness of insurance against similar risks that may arise in the coming years. I would also like to thank all the institutions and expert representatives who worked diligently in the field during this challenging season and contributed to the grape harvest determination process. I would like to emphasize that their efforts are invaluable to our sector. The raisin yield determination committee, of which we represent you, recently completed its work and submitted its reports to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. However, I must also mention the following fact: Judging by the yield in our vineyards this season, we had over 300,000 tons of seedless raisin potential. Unfortunately, we lost a significant portion of this. According to initial assessments made throughout the province, an average of 40% to 50% damage has been incurred across all crops. Yield losses are particularly significant in the districts of Saruhanlı, Şehzadeler, and Yunusemre, which hold a significant place in the yield. Conversely, the districts of Alaşehir and Sarıgöl, which have a high number of fresh grape producers and less frost damage this season, are critical regions for the raisin yield. The world's most important raisin producers, and the countries with which we compete, especially in exports, are South Africa, Iran, China, and Uzbekistan. An examination of production, domestic trade, and export data reveals: According to the sectoral registration and reporting system, the 2024–2025 season will conclude on August 31st, and we will begin the new season on September 1st. According to producer purchase registration data as of the end of July, the total amount of seedless raisins registered on all our commodity exchanges, including Manisa and its districts, was 209 tons. According to the latest export report dated August 16th, 148,000 tons of exports brought $528,486,000 to our country. This high economic value stems from the hard work of our producers, the labor of our traders, the investments of our industrialists, the vision of our exporters, and the coordinated efforts of our professional organizations.