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HISTORY OF APRICOTS
History and Turkey’s Share in Dried Apricot It covers The large area,
which  covers Turkistan, Middle Asia, and Western China, is considered to be the
motherland of apricot. About 5000 years ago, apricot was known in this area.
Apricot was first brought to Anatolia in the fourth century BC during the
military expeditions of the Great Iskender.. Apricot was taken to Italia and
then to Greece during the Roman and Persian wars in the first century BC, by the
tradesmen. It took long years for apricot to spread to the other European
countries from Italy and Greece, and it was taken to Spain and England in the
13th century, and to France and USA in the 17th century. Today apricot is spread
almost all over the world, but the main places are Mediterranean Countries,
Europe, Middle Asia, America, and Africa. When we look at the world production
and export of dried apricot, it can be seen that Turkey is the leader without
any serious competitors. Turkey realizes 85% of the total dried apricot trade of
the world. Apricot cultivation, which is spread in most of the agricultural
regions of Turkey, finds its best environment in the province of Malatya. Due to
the composition arising from the ecology of the province, Malatya origin
apricots gained economic value in the form of dried apricots for
years This
province, which is located in the Central Eastern Anatolian Region, produces
nearly half of the crop. Malatya, produces almost the export oriented dried
apricot in Turkey. |
