07.06.2026 12:41
In Bursa, which ranks second in Turkey's artichoke production, the harvest season has begun, bringing intense work for artichoke peelers. İbrahim Nizamsever, who has been doing this job for about 10 years, stated that he peels a thousand artichokes a day and his daily earnings can reach up to 8 thousand lira. The monthly income of skilled workers employed throughout the season can reach 240 thousand lira. In Turkey, the President receives a salary of 312,718 TL as of January.
In Bursa, which ranks second in artichoke production in Turkey, masters known as "artichoke peelers" are working intensively with the start of the harvest season. The monthly income of this profession, which requires delicacy and skill, rivals the salary of the President. In Turkey, the President's salary as of January is 312,718 TL.
MONTHLY INCOME UP TO 240 THOUSAND TL
Artichokes harvested in the Nilüfer and Mustafakemalpaşa districts are processed by these few skilled masters before reaching the tables. An expert worker in artichoke peeling, an important branch of the sector, can clean a thousand artichokes per day, earning at least 240 thousand lira per month.
"I PEEL 1000 ARTICHOKES A DAY"
İbrahim Nizamsever, a 30-year-old who has been doing this job for about 10 years in the Hasanağa neighborhood of Nilüfer district, shared the intricacies and earnings of artichoke peeling. Stating that he usually works as a greengrocer but turns to artichoke peeling when the season starts, Nizamsever said, "Our season has begun; we are peelers. I have been doing this job for about 10 years, and our season lasts 3 months. The price for peeling an artichoke ranges from 8 lira to 15 lira. For customers who only need work for 3 days, we peel at 12-13 lira per piece, while for those with regular work, we lower the price to 7-8 lira. I peel a thousand artichokes a day. This amounts to 8 thousand lira daily, reaching 240 thousand lira per month."
"HAND AND WRIST MAKE NEARLY 40 ROTATIONS FOR ONE ARTICHOKE"
Emphasizing that cleaning artichokes, though it looks easy from the outside, requires serious manual labor and skill, Nizamsever described the difficulty of the job as follows: "For those who know and can do it, it's a good job, but it's very hard. Until the peeling of a single artichoke is finished, the hand and wrist make nearly 40 rotating movements. Our work in Hasanağa ends in a month, then we continue in other regions. For 3 months straight, I peel artichokes every day like this."
According to production data, in the Hasanağa neighborhood, where artichoke production is carried out on approximately 200 decares, 400-450 plants can be accommodated per decare. Considering that a maximum of 2,000 artichokes are cut per decare, a total of about 400,000 artichokes are harvested and processed through peeling in this neighborhood alone.
The production capacity across Bursa puts the city in a leading position in Turkey. According to 2025 TÜİK data, about 9,778 tons of artichokes were grown on approximately 7,531 decares of land in Bursa. With this production volume, Bursa ranks second in Turkey after İzmir. Artichoke production in the city is concentrated in the Mustafakemalpaşa district with 3,750 tons on 3,000 decares, and in the Nilüfer district with 3,064 tons on 2,451 decares.