Green gold: Pistachio harvest begins in Gaziantep

Pistachio harvesting has begun in Gaziantep, a province of Turkey’s Southeastern Anatolia Region.

Gaziantep pistachios are used to make Baklava and other types of sweets. 

This year’s bumper harvest has created hundreds of jobs. No wonder Gaziantep and Sanliurfa pistachios are known as “green gold.” 

However, the success of the harvest has driven down the price of Gaziantep pistachios by as much as 50 percent.

The price of a kilo of pistachios recently reached 180 lira ($36) but the saturated market has caused the price to fall to about 90 lira ($18).