Dried Apricot for Syria and the Gulf: What the Buyer Is Asking For

Turkish dried apricot has a long-standing place in the Arab market. Even so, a first conversation with a buyer in Syria or the Gulf rarely stalls on price. It stalls on the description of the goods: which product, which size, which packaging, and on what basis the weight will be counted.

This guide exists to shorten that conversation. A seller who knows what the other side is asking and why becomes, in two messages, the person who is easy to deal with.

The First Fork: Sulphured or Sun-Dried

The Arab market buys both, but it does not treat them as the same thing. Light-coloured, sulphured yellow apricot goes to the channel that wants shelf appearance; sun-dried fruit is the product for the buyer looking for unsulphured goods. The two have different customers, different vocabulary and different expectations.

When the other side says which channel they serve, half the work is done. When they do not, it is worth asking — because sending a sample of the wrong product means starting the conversation over.

The Size Number: The Arab Buyer’s First Question

Size in dried apricot is discussed by number, and the buyer on this side knows those numbers. The distance between jumbo and a number 8 is a separate line on their shelf and on their price list. What the numbers correspond to is collected in our size and calibration guide.

Goods can be graded to the requested size on our side; if a buyer insists on a single size, the effect that has on the loading schedule is stated at the outset rather than discovered later.

Sulphur Level: Whatever the Destination Country Allows

The second technical subject a buyer raises on yellow apricot is sulphur. Every market has its own upper limit, and SO2 limits determine which goods may enter which country. This question cannot be answered without knowing the buyer’s country; once the country is known, the conversation is short.

Where the Deal Actually Ties Up: Weight and Moisture

Conversations in this market rarely break down over price. They break down over kilos: goods with high moisture lose weight in transit, the arrival weighbridge does not match the departure one, and the argument starts.

Counting kilos looks like a simple matter. It is not. It is headed off during loading — the departure weight is documented, the moisture expectation is discussed up front, and the governing weighbridge is written into the order correspondence. With all three done, both sides hold the same figures from the moment the goods are loaded to the moment they are unloaded, and there is nothing left to argue about on arrival. A buyer’s insistence on this is experience rather than fussiness; it is also the buyer who goes on to discuss a second order with a seller who takes it seriously.

Packaging: Carton or Sack

A buyer packing under their own brand, or supplying a shelf, works with cartons. On the wholesale distribution side, sacks come into the conversation. The two have different loading patterns and different volumes, so packaging is not a detail — it is a decision that changes the shipping plan, and it needs settling early.

Syria and the Gulf Take Different Routes

The two markets may buy the same product, but the shape of the shipment diverges. The Syrian side works overland: the truck is loaded, it passes the border crossing, and the goods reach the buyer’s warehouse within a few days. The cost of that speed is that congestion at the crossing varies and can move the schedule on its own.

The Gulf side is a port-and-container business. The journey is longer but the calendar is more predictable; in return, container stacking, carton strength and the loading plan are set more tightly from the start. A buyer serving both markets with the same product finds things easier knowing the two shipments are planned separately.

When a Sample Is Requested

In a serious wholesale discussion a sample request is reasonable and it is considered. Our practice is straightforward: the sample is prepared from the product and size actually being discussed, and the cost and courier side are settled in the conversation. For buyers who prefer to proceed on photographs, images from the current lot are sent — most discussions move on photographs first and on a sample only where it is needed.

Shipping and the Border

Anyone who answers the timing question with a single figure loses credibility the moment that figure slips. Three things govern it: whether the goods are in ready stock, whether the requested size needs separate grading, and how busy the crossing is that week. That is why a realistic date is given as the order firms up.

There is a seasonal dimension too. Demand for dried fruit tightens in the run-up to Ramadan. A buyer aiming for that window makes life easier for both sides by opening the conversation early.

The Paperwork Side

What the export documents are, including origin and health paperwork, is covered in a separate guide. Additional documents may be required depending on the buyer’s country, so which ones apply is settled together with the country at the order stage. Paperwork is not left to the end; it runs alongside the loading plan.

How We Work

We take apricot from the growing area and hold it in our own warehouse. We discuss both channels, sulphured yellow apricot and sun-dried, and grading can be carried out on request.

If you are working towards Syria or the Gulf, four pieces of information are enough to start: the product — sulphured or sun-dried — the size number, the approximate tonnage and the delivery point. With those four settled, we will tell you plainly where the product stands in that period and give you a realistic loading window.