The History of Saffron Production in Turkey

Producing saffron in different regions results in different qualities and types. This is an expensive spice, and most countries are eager to get involved in the production and export of saffron. One of those countries is Turkey, where farmers have started to cultivate saffron only in limited areas. Compared to Iran’s saffron production, Turkey produces a limited volume of saffron every year. This blog post provides general information regarding different aspects of saffron production in Turkey.     

Saffron production in Turkey

Producing saffron in Turkey started in Safranbolu province. Safranblou is located in the Black Sea region, north of Karabuk city. Some would claim that the Anatolia region is the first producer and exporter of saffron in Turkey, during Ottoman Empire. In the year 1858, near 9705 kg of Turkish saffron was exported to England, while this production level dropped in 1913 to 500kg. After World War 1, saffron production in Turkey decreased because of the lack of enough male labor. At that time, several other sociocultural and religious factors made females abandon saffron cultivation for a while.

In addition to Safranbolu, Other areas also produce saffron, including Tokat, Denizli, Eskişehir, Hatay, Hivan Hapier village, Şanlıurfa, Viranşehir in Şanlıurfa, Bartın, Keten village, Yazı village, Çanakkale, Davutobası village, Geren, Asağ ıgü ney, Yö rü k, and Değirmencik village. Near 40 villages that cultivate saffron in Turkey are located in Safranbolu province.

Safranbolu is 478 m altitude above sea level and experiences 579 mm rainfall, with an average temperature of 12.8 C and a relative annual level of humidity at 61%.  The saffron corms are cultivated at 10 cm depth and are expected to flower in the middle of October to early November. Safranbolu experiences modest and pleasant temperatures in May, July, June, August, and September. On the other hand, July and August are the warmest and January is the coldest month of the year.

In Turkey, farmers cultivate saffron on loose ground, well-drained, sandy soil with high organic matter content areas of Safranbolu.

You may wonder why this city is called Safranbolu?

This city earned this name for its endeavors to grow and trade saffron and saffron corms. Yet, saffron production and trade are very limited, compared to top saffron-producer countries. Recently, farmers in Turkey become interested in the trade of saffron corms, instead of the saffron spice, itself. This is due to the amount of saffron corm they can produce. For example, 100 g corm can produce 500 kg daughter corm, while only 600g saffron can be obtained in a three-year time.

Safranbolu has become famous for its endeavors to attract tourists to saffron attractions. Tourists visit saffron farms during harvest time to take photos of purplish saffron farms. Not only the visual beauty of the saffron farms, but also the scent of the saffron makes a memorable time for tourists.

Turkey Saffron Tours

During this saffron tour, they learn about the saffron flower, and the cultivation of saffron, visit harvest, farms and the local people, and enjoy the local saffron dishes. Saffron is an important ingredient in many Turkish dishes. Turkish delight, soups, cologne, and Zarde dessert are an example of foods with the use of saffron. Photography teams organize saffron tours to capture unique pictures of the saffron farms and natural scenes.

These saffron tours intend to improve the overall economic situation of local people. This town holds saffron festivals in the time of harvest to attract tourists’ attention to the saffron industry and promote the sales of saffron, increase production, and inform others about the potential attractions of the saffron farms. These festivals are organized by NGOs and were successful to attract 70.000 to 80.000 tourists in Oct-Nov 2019. That year, this city dedicated 3.5 hectares of land, with 20 large saffron producers and some small farms, as well.

Other Saffron producing areas in Turkey

During the 2000s, saffron was cultivated in only one village in Karabuk. After a while, Turkey’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry increased the under-saffron cultivated land to improve saffron production volume in Turkey. This ministry passed a law to ban the export of the Crocus Sativus plant and provided financial and educational aid for farmers to protect and improve the industry of Turkish saffron.

Safranbolu is not the only district that produces saffron in Turkey. Çütlük area is located in Kuruyer village, where its agricultural production used to be 70% cotton, 20%wheat, and 10% corn, with high irrigation capacity. After a while, farmers started to cultivate saffron, which requires 10% of the water used for cotton with a much higher profit margin. Moreover, this region benefits from tropical weather conditions, with a hardpan, and a bit of sandy and marl soil, which are required for saffron cultivation.

Farmers are encouraged to cultivate saffron in this area as this requires less irrigation, little risk of soil erosion, and a higher level of financial profit. Harran University cooperates with TEMA Foundation in a project to enhance saffron research, and find ways to improve the income of villagers through the saffron industry. This project tries to:

• Find ways to attract more buyers
• Improve saffron cultivation techniques
• İmprove educational, economic, social, and employment opportunities of the villagers
• Attract the attention of the ministry of agriculture to provide incentives for farmers
• Provide training for villagers to produce the highest quality saffron
• …

Saffron has become a popular plant to cultivate in return for a high-profit financial margin and global demand. As a result, Turkey started to produce saffron. Turkish saffron is not as popular as Iranian, or Spanish ones, however; they have tried to grow their saffron business, in recent years. As a result of these efforts, they could have gained their desired attention and increased their saffron export volume. Yet, they are not listed as the top saffron-producing countries. This blog post aimed to introduce saffron cultivated in Turkey and their endeavors to increase their limited saffron production and export volume.