Malatya

Malatya exists because apricots exist. This eastern Anatolian province controls 90% of Turkey's apricot exports and 70% of the global dried apricot market—a monocultural dominance that rivals Saudi oil or Chilean copper. Eight million apricot trees support 50,000 families in a supply chain that reaches 112 countries. The EU granted Turkish apricots geographical indication status in 2017, formally recognizing what the market already knew.

The apricot arrived in Anatolia during Alexander's campaigns in the 4th century BCE, brought from Turkistan via the Silk Road. Armenian merchants carried it to Greece in the 1st century BCE; from there, Rome, and finally all of Europe. Malatya's specific combination of altitude, continental climate, and soil chemistry created ideal conditions—the trees flowered earlier here, the fruit dried sweeter here, and centuries of cultivation knowledge accumulated here.

But monocultures face existential risks. The February 2023 earthquake centered nearby in Kahramanmaraş devastated Malatya's infrastructure—exports dropped 50.6% in the month following. Then in April 2025, a frost catastrophe struck: temperatures plunged to -15°C, damaging nearly all 13 million trees and slashing expected production from 750,000 tons to just 10,000 tons. The chairman of Malatya's Chamber of Commerce called it "a second disaster."

By 2026, Malatya faces the monoculture vulnerability that every specialized economy eventually confronts. The $370 million dried apricot revenue and $12.9 million in kernel exports may never recover to pre-2023 levels. Whether Malatya diversifies or doubles down on apricots as the trees recover will shape the next generation.