“Yayladağı Strawberry Festival” was held in Hatay

HATAY (AA) – Yayladağı Strawberry Festival was organized in Hatay’s Yayladağı district to promote the local strawberry. A symbolic strawberry harvest was held at the festival hosted by Yayladağı District Governorate and Yayladağı Municipality. In the program where the Most Beautiful Strawberry Competition was held to encourage producers, a mehter band and a local dance show were presented. In his speech here, Governor Mustafa Masatlı said that Yayladağı is not only an agricultural center, but also a symbol of labor, patience and hope, and that the sweat of the producers is rewarded in the fertile lands of the district.

Stating that the district is one of the centers where strawberries with the most beautiful aroma and taste grow, Masatlı stated that turning the harvest period into a festival this year is an important source of motivation for the normalization process after the earthquake on February 6, 2023. Governor Masatlı stated that they expect a higher harvest of strawberries this year compared to last year. Pointing out that most of the province’s strawberry production is done in Yayladağı, Masatlı said: Our cultivation decares this year and last year are almost the same.

We cultivated strawberries throughout Hatay on an area of approximately 4 thousand 300 decares. While last year’s harvest was 9 thousand 300 tons, this year we expect approximately 10 thousand 900 tons. Our Yayladağı district undertakes 70 percent of this work throughout Hatay. Strawberry cultivation took place on more than 3 thousand decares of land in our district. Hopefully, our Yayladağı district will have grown 7 thousand 600 tons, that is, almost 70 percent of our total crop.

Our producers will export their products, especially to the domestic market. Hatay Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mehmet Öntürk, Yayladağı District Governor Halil Yazıcı, Yayladağı Mayor Mehmet Yalçın, some institution managers and citizens attended the festival.