Supply Chain in the Carob Sector: From Garden to Factory
Behind a pack of carob powder or a kilo of carob gum; There is a long chain starting from the forest or garden where the tree is located, passing through the collector, intermediary, crushing plant, gum producer and exporter. Since carob is a product largely collected from natural trees, the first links of this chain work quite differently from other fruits.
In this article, we discuss the links of the carob supply chain, the role of each actor and the main problems in the chain, using the findings of the value chain research conducted in the field in Turkey and the experience of other producing countries such as Morocco.
Supply Chain Overview
The carob supply chain, in its simplest form, begins with the collection of the fruit from the tree and reaches the end user by dividing it into two main product branches: products obtained from the fleshy part of the fruit (pulp) and products obtained from the seed. As noted in a 2024 compilation by Martins-Loução et al., the first step in evaluating the pod is to separate the seed from the fleshy part. This distinction also determines which actor the chain will turn to at which point.
The main actors identified in the field research in Turkey and their roles can be summarized as follows:
| Actor | Role in the chain |
|---|---|
| Forest Administration | Manages collection permits and exploitation schemes in state forests |
| Forest villager / gatherer | He picks the fruit from the tree, pre-selects it, and sacks it |
| Merchant / broker | Liaises with the villager, loads and transports the product, works with the exporter or facilities |
| Spice shop, selection and packaging plants | It separates and packages snack and edible products; mostly works according to the demand of export companies |
| Molasses manufacturers | Produces molasses by traditional and industrial methods |
| By-product manufacturers | It produces products such as flour, cookies, Turkish delight and spreads |
| Scale manufacturers | Produces locust bean gamut (LBG) from the kernel |
| Exporters | Contacts traders and facilities according to international demand |
This table is based on the "Carob Value Chain Research" prepared by the Yasam Dair Foundation for the Nature Conservation Center and published in 2018 within the scope of a project carried out in cooperation with the General Directorate of Forestry and UNDP. The research is based on 15 interviews conducted in the last quarter of 2016 with representatives of forest administrations, forest villagers, foragers, mukhtars, intermediaries, spice traders, processing plant managers and exporters' associations in Antalya, Mersin, Izmir and Istanbul.
The First Ring: Tree, Forest and Gatherer
The most important feature that distinguishes the carob supply chain from other fruits is that most of the raw material comes from natural trees, not regular gardens. According to the same report, 70 percent of carob in Turkey is obtained from wild trees. In the report, it is stated that 15,016 tons of product was obtained from 335,687 fruit-bearing trees in 2017 and the yield per tree was 45 kg.
The collection process is also organized according to this structure:
- Most of the carob is collected from forest lands by forest villagers, and a small part is collected by landowners from private lands.
- Collection in state forests requires permission from the General Directorate of Forestry and villages close to the forest have priority in collection; collectors pay the determined tariff to the forest management.
- Although permission is not required in private lands, the forest management is notified with a petition that the collection will be made and the product is registered.
- Collection begins in mid-August and lasts until December.
Another point that draws attention in the report is the effect of certification on the chain. According to the statement of a forest administration representative, the registration of the collected products started with the request for organic certification for export abroad. In other words, the buyer's request for documents also changed the registration order at the very beginning of the chain.
The report also emphasizes that collectors are generally the least profitable segment in the carob collection, processing and export chain. It is reported that when prices fall, villagers collect less and only collect from grafted trees. This shows how sensitive the supply of raw materials is to price and collector motivation.
A similar structure is seen in other producing countries. According to FAO's Morocco document dated 2025, most of the production in Morocco comes from forest areas managed by the national water and forestry agency (ANEF); the exploitation of forests is given either to authorized operators by auction or to cooperatives in exchange for forest conservation activities. According to the document, most of the harvested pods are sent directly to crushing plants, while some are sold through intermediaries and cooperatives.
Pre-Selection: Unseen Quality Control of the Chain
In the carob supply chain, the first quality control is often done in the village, not in a laboratory. According to the report of the Foundation for Life, villagers choose most of the product themselves before selling it; Since it is generally known in the region which tree is sweet, the choice is easier than other forest products.
The decisive criteria in this primary election are as follows:
| Interior color | Fruits with white and plump flesh are reserved for snacks; others are used in powder, pulp and molasses production or for seeding. |
| Location and altitude | According to the report, since the carob, which grows especially in coastal regions, is dark inside, these fruits are used as pulp and feed or sent to facilities for their seeds; Fruits collected above 450 meters are of better quality. |
| Grafted-ungrafted distinction | The fruit of grafted trees goes to the snack as the first quality, and the second quality goes to the factory. |
| Pests and kibble | Harmful effect and defects reduce quality. |
The economic equivalent of this classification is great. According to the report, carob in snack quality changes hands between the villager and the spice seller at a price approximately 500 percent higher than other qualities. In other words, the product collected from the same tree gains a completely different value depending on which branch it is divided into.
Intermediaries, Traders, and Spice Sellers
Intermediation in the carob chain is more flexible compared to other forest products. The report finds that it is common for villagers to have direct contact with spice sellers in Gazipaşa and Gülnar, and that intermediaries are less active in carob than in other forest products. According to a mukhtar, spice sellers can come from provinces such as Aydın and Konya to pick up the product on site or have it delivered by cargo.
In terms of logistics, the first link of the chain is small-scale. According to the report, the collector bears the initial transportation cost because the collector selects and sells the product most of the time; small quantities are transported to spice shops and processing plants with the collectors' own vehicles. Since it does not require drying, the collector can directly put the raw product on the market.
Selection and packaging facilities function as a bridge between the villager and the wholesaler or exporter. In the report, it is stated that due to low production costs, processing plants apply a small process to the product they buy from the villager and put it on the market by adding a profit. According to the statement of a facility representative, the first quality product is sent to Istanbul and distributed all over Turkey from there.
Crushing Plant: The Point Where Kibble and Core Separate
In the industrial branch, the heart of the chain is the crushing plant. According to a 2020 study by Antoniou et al. from the Cyprus Agricultural Research Institute, carob fruit consists of approximately 90 percent flesh and 10 percent seeds by weight at full maturity. The kernels are considered the most industrially valuable part of the fruit due to the production of carob gum; during the separation of the kernels by grinding, the fleshy part kibble (kibble) emerge as a low-cost by-product.
From this point on, the chain splits into two:
| Pulp (kibble) handle | Shards go to the feed industry, molasses and must producers, roasted and ground to powder producers. |
| Core arm | Kernels tend to gamut manufacturers or direct export. |
The example of Morocco shows the weight of crushing plants in the chain in numbers. According to the FAO document, the main processing activity in Morocco is crushing, i.e. kernel separation, which is carried out by about 15 plants with a total capacity of more than 80,000 tons. Crushing and grinding steps Carob Kibble Quality Grades We also discuss it in our article.
Gamut Generator and Other Handlers
The last link of the core arm is the gum producer. Çukurova Development Agency's 2021 Mersin carob processing plant pre-feasibility report summarizes the gum production process as follows: The beans are first annealed, then shelled with the help of metal rollers; the peeled beans are gradually ground and the endosperm is separated; the separated endosperm is re-ground, classified and grouped according to the desired size. In the same report, it is also stated that the line cost could not be detailed because there is only one company producing gamut production line machines in Turkey.
BAKA's 2024 feasibility report cites that based on the literature, the seed consists of about one-third of gum by weight, with an average of 20 kg of pure dry gum obtained from about 100 kg of seeds. This ratio explains why the kernel is the most valuable product in the chain.
Field research in Turkey found that there are active gamut producers in Gülnar and Gazipaşa. In the same regions, molasses producers and businesses producing by-products such as carob flour, cookies and Turkish delight are also part of the chain. In the report, a molasses producer in Gazipaşa stated that there are at least 4,000 tons of products annually in the region and that they buy 3,000 tons of this; this is a field statement and does not replace official statistics.
In Morocco, this link of the chain is weaker. According to the FAO document, the value chain is not adequately evaluated in the country, and most of the beans are exported without processing. In the document, it is stated that bean exports, mainly to Europe, reached 13,000 tons per year, and carob gum exports reached an average of 825 tons per year. This table shows that the capacity to process the bean directly determines a country's share of the chain.
The Path to the End User
In the last link of the chain, the products reach many different users. According to the report of the Foundation for Life, the processed and packaged carob is exported from abroad according to the quality demanded: Snack products with high honey content usually go to Arab countries, and industrial products go to European countries. In the domestic market, the product is distributed throughout the country from large centers such as Istanbul.
On the industrial side, the end users are:
- Food industry: Bakery products, confectionery, beverages and dairy product manufacturers using powders, molasses, extracts and gums
- Food additive manufacturers: Companies that standardize the range and sell it
- Feed industry: Low-quality and dark fruits and kibble
- Non-food industries: Uses of the range in areas such as textiles, paper and cosmetics
Barak and Mudgil's 2014 compilation is one of the main sources that holistically addresses the processing, properties and food applications of carob gum and is useful for understanding the technical properties sought in this last link of the chain.
Major Issues in the Chain
Both the field research in Turkey and the BAKA report highlight similar problems in the carob supply chain:
- The traditional method of picking, which is done by hitting with a stick, damages the branches and reduces the yield in the following years; harvesting mechanization is not yet developed.
- There is a standardization problem in by-products, and this problem becomes more evident in small-scale enterprises.
- The unit price is variable as the quality of the product is affected by climate, soil and genetic factors.
- Despite the variety of products, processing is largely done in small quantities and with traditional methods.
- Aggregators are the segment that earns the least in the chain.
The recommendations of the reports also address these problems: transferring modern molasses and grinding techniques to small businesses, opening marketing channels for locally produced products, increasing training for villagers, grafting ungrafted trees close to villages and supporting initiatives that produce value-added products. The FAO document for Morocco also lists an inadequately structured local market, scattered marketing channels and a lack of traceability throughout the chain among similar problems.
Why is traceability important for the buyer?
In the case of a raw material that comes from natural trees, from many small pickers, traceability does not occur by itself. From the buyer's point of view, the following questions help to understand the strength of the chain:
- From which region and from which type of trees (grafted, wild) does the raw material come from?
- What criteria are used for pre-selection and classification?
- In which facility is the crushing and separation process carried out, are batch records kept?
- Can product batches be verified by sample and analysis?
We will explore this topic in more detail Questions to Ask When Choosing a Carob Supplier We discuss it in our article.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does carob come from gardens or forests? Most of the production in Turkey comes from natural trees. According to the value chain research, 70 percent of the product is obtained from wild trees; the gardens established in recent years are gradually changing this picture.
What is the most valuable product of the chain? The seed is considered the most industrially valuable part of the fruit due to the production of carob scale. In the direct consumption branch, the snack fruit with white inside and plump flesh finds the highest price.
Can carob be dried after picking? According to field research, carob can be directly released to the market after collection without drying. Storage conditions are important to maintain quality.
Why is gamut production done in a small number of plants? Scale production; It includes steps that require special equipment and expertise, such as peeling the seed shell, separating and classifying the endosperm. The report of the Çukurova Development Agency states that there is only one company in Turkey that produces the machine of this line.
Carob in Every Link of the Chain with Carob Türkiye
The carob supply chain is a multi-ring structure that allows a raw material collected from natural trees to reach different industries through selection, crushing and processing steps. The selection and registration in each ring directly affect the quality of the final product. At Carob Türkiye, we supply carob fruit, crumbs, flour/powder, seeds, and extracts. Carob Fruit, Carob Kibble (Granular) and Carob Seed You can review our pages, for your wholesale and export requests. Contact Now You can contact us on our page.
Domestic resources
Yaşam Dair Foundation, "Non-Wood Forest Products: Carob Value Chain Research (Research Report 2018)", Nature Conservation Center – OGM – UNDP, GEF Mediterranean Forests Integrated Management Project, 2018. files.
acquia. UNDP. org/ public/ migration/ en/ keciboynuzu_hq. Erbaş, S., "Carob Agriculture and Industry Feasibility Report", Western Mediterranean Development Agency (BAKA), 2024. DEVELOPMENT LIBRARY.
gov. en/ assets/ upload/ files/ Keciboy... Çukurova Development Agency (under the coordination of the Ministry of Industry and Technology of the Republic of Turkey), "Mersin Province Carob Processing Plant Investment Pre-Feasibility Report", 2021. INVESTMENTSUPPORT.
gov. en/ pdf/ assets/ upload/ Feasibility Studies/ mer... Foreign sources
Martins-Loução, M. A., Correia, P. J., Romano, A., "Carob: A Mediterranean Resource for the Future", Plants, 13(9), 1188, 2024. doi.
org/ 10. 3390/ plants13091188 Antoniou, C., Kyratzis, A., Rouphael, Y., Stylianou, S., Kyriacou, M. C., "Heat- and Ultrasound-Assisted Aqueous Extraction of Soluble Carbohydrates and Phenolics from Carob Kibbles of Variable Size and Source Material", Foods, 9(10), 1364, 2020. doi.
org/ 10. 3390/ foods9101364 FAO, "Morocco – Carob (Ceratonia siliqua)", One Country One Product (OCOP) Initiative, 2025. openknowledge.
FAO. org/ server/ api/ core/ bitstreams/ 6749540d... Barak, S., Mudgil, D., "Locust bean gum: Processing, properties and food applications—A review", International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 66, 74–80, 2014. doi.
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