Dried vegetable season begins in Gaziantep amidst labor shortages
Preparation of dried vegetables begins in 40-degree heat, while producers are unable to find workers despite offering a daily wage of 2,000 liras.
The dried vegetable season, an indispensable part of winter months in Gaziantep, has begun under extreme temperatures reaching 40 degrees, while producers face a shortage of workers despite high daily wages.
The Beginning of the Drying Season
With the warming of the weather, the dried vegetable season, which holds an indispensable place among winter dishes in Gaziantep, has officially opened.
Production and Drying Process
The harvested vegetables have their insides removed, are carefully strung on ropes, and are left to dry on wooden structures set up on high, windy hills.
Following this drying process, which takes about a week, the products are packaged and sent all over Turkey and to expatriates living abroad.
Production Conditions and Mountainous Regions
Producer Adem Erdoğan stated that women in the neighborhoods carve out the vegetables, making a significant contribution to their family budgets.
Erdoğan noted that the drying areas are chosen away from humidity, in hot and windy mountainous regions, and that they lay out between 100 and 200 tons of drying vegetables per week.
Tireing Shifts and Labor Crisis
During the very tiring shift that starts at 06:00 in the morning and lasts until midnight, workers operate on a piece-rate system, earning a daily income of approximately 2,000 liras.
However, due to the extreme heat affecting the region, producers are experiencing major difficulties in finding the necessary agricultural workers.