Türkiye growing lavender in 20,000 decares: Official

With lavender production in Türkiye expanding to an area of 20,000 decares, the country has become able to meet its annual lavender oil needs, according to Öztürk Sarıca, a vet and the founder of a local nature organization which established Türkiye's largest lavender field.

The production of lavender, which both visually contributes to ecotourism and whose oil can be used in many areas in the cosmetics and food sectors, has started in the western province of Isparta's Keçiborlu district for the first time in Türkiye.

Sarıca's organization, Lisinia Doğa, has taken the first step in the southern province of Burdur's Karakent village in 2015 by starting as a dry farming practice due to the rapid drying of lake and underground water resources, and the production has spread throughout the country over the years.

The project in which Türkiye's largest lavender field on 400 decares of land was established in Burdur's Yeşilova district 5 years ago, was initiated to protect Burdur Lake and underground water resources, according to Sarıca.

The number of annual visitors, which was around 20,000 in 2015, exceeded 400,000 in 2019, Sarıca said, noting that lavender attracts great attention in terms of the ecotourism. "The number of visitors is expected to soar 300,000 this year."

"Previously, the country used to buy about 10 tons of oil from abroad, there was very little production.

Now, we have domestic and international orders," he said, reiterating that lavender is of great importance not only in terms of its visual appearance but also its contribution to the economy.

"In order for lavender to make a remarkable contribution to the economy, the area of production should increase to around 300,000 decares," he added.