ISPARTA, Turkey

The price of rose oil is expected to rise as production this year has fallen by about 25 to 30 percent, Turkey's Gulbirlik, the world's largest rose oil producer and exporter, said on Wednesday.

"Around 5,500 tonnes (metric tons) of roses were harvested this year, and that is below the expected volume of 7,000 tonnes. This is a significant loss, which will inevitably lead to a surge in the price of rose oil." Gulbirlik's General Manager Hasan Celik told Anadolu Agency.

Celik noted that production has been in a downward trend over the past four years, due to both extremely hot weather and frost, and the yield could be even less if there is not sufficient rain in June.

"The average level of production over the past four years is 6 to 6,500 tonnes. Last year's production was over 7,000 tonnes, and our expectation for this year was at least 7,000. So we are talking about a loss of 25 to 30 percent," he said, adding that Bulgaria - another major producer - has suffered a decline as well, cutting into total global supplies of rose oil.

Turkey is the number one producer of Damask roses and rose oil for perfumes.

Renowned for its fine fragrance, the Damask rose is one of the four to five rose varieties out of around 500, from which it is possible to extract rose oil.

 About 4,000 kilograms of roses are needed to produce a kilo of oil on average using modern distillation processes.