The weight of the dried okra exceeded 1,000 lire.
In Yozgat, fresh okra sells for between 80 and 100 lire, while dried okra sells for between 900 and 1,200 lira per kilo.
Orhan Dolangez, a trader who sells okra in Yozgat, said: “A 100-gram meal has become a 300-lira luxury consumer item. Okra is no longer a product that can be consumed by everyone.”
Trader Orhan Dolangez, who has been selling okra with spices and walnuts for 7 years in Yozgat, said the price of dried okra, which sold for 300-400 lira before the pandemic, is between 1,000 and 1,200 lira in the present.
dolangez said:
“THE PRODUCT IS EXPENSIVE BECAUSE IT IS GROWN IN A LIMITED REGION”
“Okra is produced only in a certain region in terms of production, it is mainly produced in the Amasya region. Production is also done in limited quantities. It’s a little hard to make, sure, picking it up, stringing it on string, drying it, giving it a waste when it dries, it’s laborious work.
The product is expensive because it is grown in a limited area. The demand of the sector and the market for this product is of course one of the factors that determine the price. Let me tell you today, the price of okra, which we were selling for 300-400 lira two years ago, before the pandemic, is selling for 1,000 lira, around 1,200 lira.
There are also classes of okra that determine this price among themselves. There is okra that we call embroidered, there is okra that we call flower okra, there is large okra, there is fresh okra. Each of them has different buyers in the market, and they have price values. These are the factors that determine the price. Aged okra sells for around 80-90-100 during the season. These are a little bigger, the citizen can take them wet, slice them, put them in the refrigerator, store them in the freezer and then use them as food”.
THE COST OF 100 GRAMS OF FOOD IS 300 LIRA
“Okra is no longer a product that everyone can consume,” Dolangez said, adding: “100 grams of okra is 100 lire today, barely enough for a family of two. Okra is a product that is eaten with meat, the price of meat is around 200-280-300 lire today. A 100-gram meal has become a 300-lire luxury consumer product. Okra is no longer a product that can be consumed by everyone.”
Stating that okra contains collagen, Dolangez said: “After a certain age, it has a characteristic that strengthens it due to decreased fluid in the kneecaps. It is also very beneficial for the stomach and intestines. Because it is a fibrous food, it also has a structure that regulates the intestinal structure of people.”
“YOU CREATE A MEAL FOR A FAMILY FROM 100 GRAMS OF DRIED Okra”
Murat Ursavaş, another trader from Yozgat, said: “Flowering okra ranges from 900 to 1,000 lira, and the average weight of fresh okra is 70 to 80 lira. Okra blossom is laborious work, drying and processing is a bit more difficult. You cook a meal with a kilo of fresh okra, you cook a meal for a family with 100 grams of dried okra. On average, he had sales between 700 and 800 lira last year,” he said. (PHOENIX)