The Malatya Apricot

Sulphur dioxide (SO₂) is used in drying to keep the colour light and prevent mould; the Ministry of Trade's dried apricot quality criteria set the permitted upper limit. Product within that limit is legal. Unsulphured (natural / sun-dried) apricot turns dark and keeps for a shorter time — it is a preference, not a fake version of the other. People sensitive to sulphites choose the natural product.

Both are dried apricots; the difference is whether sulphur was used. In the exchange bulletin "dried apricot" usually means the sulphured, light-coloured product, and "sun-dried" the unsulphured, dark one. Our price index tracks them as separate product types.

They are size classes set by calibre — the number of fruits in 500 grams: the smaller the number, the larger the fruit. Jumbo is the largest class. Size drives appearance and price, not taste; larger classes are chosen for gifting, smaller ones for cooking and desserts.

No. "Malatya Kayısısı" is a registered geographical indication; use of the name depends on a defined production area and the qualities in the registration. The registration is also valid in the European Union.

Cool, dark and dry, in a closed container. In summer heat a fridge preserves colour and texture. If they take on moisture they stick together and risk mould; droplets inside the jar mean the fruit was not dried enough.

Our price index follows the Malatya Commodity Exchange weekly bulletin and moves week to week with harvest, exchange rates, export demand and crop expectations. The bulletin prices by product type, not by cultivar; that is why variety pages carry no price — we would rather state the difference than build a mapping that never holds.

No. Most records in the directory were compiled from open map data (Overture / OpenStreetMap); we did not create them and take no fee for them. A business can claim its own record; the "Verified" badge is given only after document and phone confirmation.