As the fig harvest gets underway in Aydın province in southwestern Türkiye, production of "fig chips” has also begun, bringing the region’s famed figs to consumers in Türkiye and abroad.

Aydın figs are among Türkiye’s geographically registered products recognized by the European Union. The province produces figs on about 40,000 hectares of farmland, yielding an average of 200,000 tons a season. About 70,000 tons are dried and exported, while some figs are sold fresh.

Another portion of the harvest is sliced thinly and dried to make what producers call "fig chips,” a product that is increasingly finding its way onto tables in Türkiye and overseas.

In and around the Nazilli district of Aydın province, small businesses and households produce fig chips as a way to generate additional income.

The process begins with freshly picked figs being sliced thinly by hand. The slices are arranged on special drying racks known locally as kerevet and left to dry in shaded areas, such as covered terraces or home gardens, away from direct sunlight. After about three to four days, the dried figs are packaged and prepared for sale.

Many producers sell their fig chips through social media, while some ship directly to international customers. The product can command roughly two to 2.5 times the price of dried figs and five to six times the price of fresh figs. By processing the fruit rather than selling it in its traditional forms, producers create additional value and employment.

From family orchard to business

Nuri Duran, 30, who lives in the rural Kızıldere neighborhood of Nazilli, produces fig chips using fresh figs from his family’s orchards as well as from nearby farms known for producing high-quality fruit. His business also allows local growers to obtain greater value from their harvests.

Duran said he first learned the fig trade as a child after his father gave him three sacks of dried figs to sell outside mosques in Trabzon province.

He eventually turned that early experience into a business, establishing his own operation about 10 years ago. Today, he processes and sells around 65 products, including fig chips, dried figs, fig jam, wild thyme, dried tomatoes, tomato paste, olives, olive oil, chestnuts and artichokes.

Duran said his long-term goal is to export his products.

Dried without sunlight

The entrepreneur uses a community gathering area in Kızıldere’s village center as a drying site when it is not otherwise in use. The operation also provides work for more than 20 women from the area.

The women gather fresh figs early in the morning and bring them to the site around midday. They slice the fruit by hand and arrange the pieces on racks and screens, where they are dried away from direct sunlight. The figs are turned and checked regularly and are ready for packaging after about three to four days.

Duran said the figs are harvested from the mountains around Nazilli, where the terrain can be difficult to navigate.

"We try to add value to our fresh figs by producing fig chips,” Duran said. "The figs are brought to our facility early in the morning, sliced very thinly and dried without exposure to sunlight. They dry in about three days. At the end of the third day, we package them under clean and hygienic conditions and sell them on the domestic market.”

He said the business processes between 150 and 200 tons of fresh figs during the season.

"For now, we sell our products only in the domestic market,” Duran said. "But as we grow, our goals include expanding into Europe and other international markets.”

Supporting local women

Gizem Şimşek, one of the workers at the business, said she has been producing fig chips for three years alongside women from the village.

"We gathered the women of the village and said, ‘Come on, sisters, let’s work together,’” Şimşek said.

The workers sort the figs by size, remove the stems and lower portions and slice the fruit thinly before placing it on racks to dry. Once dried, the chips are sorted and packaged according to size before being shipped to customers.

"It has helped support the women of the village as well as our own incomes,” Şimşek said.