Türkiye’s agriculture exporters have managed to maintain pace and lift their overseas sales to record in the first four months of this year despite multiple challenges, according to official data.
The demand remained robust despite geopolitical risks, prevailing concerns over supply and ongoing global challenges regarding food accessibility.
Outbound shipments of Türkiye’s agricultural sector totaled almost $11.2 billion from January through April, a 1.6% year-over-year increase, data compiled by Anadolu Agency (AA) from the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) showed.
The industry accounted for 13.8% of Türkiye’s January-April exports, which amounted to almost $81 billion. The overall shipments dropped by 3% year-over-year due to the prolonged effect of the devastating earthquakes that struck the country’s southeast in early February and an adverse calendar impact from the Ramadan holiday.
The quakes killed over 50,000 people, flattened hundreds of thousands of buildings and inflicted severe infrastructural damage in the region that accounts for over 20% of the country's food production.
The affected region, known as Türkiye’s “fertile crescent,” accounts for nearly 15% of agricultural gross domestic product (GDP) and contributes to almost 20% of the country’s agrifood exports, according to the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Out of 10 sectors categorized under agriculture, three managed to achieve the best January-April exports ever, the data showed. These included grain, legumes, oilseeds and relevant products, fresh fruits and vegetables and olive and olive oil sectors.
Exports of grain, legumes, oilseeds and relevant products reached $3.8 billion in the first four months. According to the data, shipments of fresh fruits and vegetables hit almost $1.2 billion and olive and olive oil rose to more than $377 million.
Sales of grain, legumes, oilseeds and their products rose 7.4% year-over-year in January-April. There was a 20.9% increase in fresh fruits and vegetable exports and a 161% increase in olive and olive oil sales.
FAO had estimated the quake had caused $1.3 billion in damage, through the destruction of infrastructure, livestock and crops, and $5.1 billion in losses to the agricultural sector.
Iraq received $660.6 million worth of Turkish grain, legumes, oilseeds and their products, the data showed. The fresh fruits and vegetables sector exported $316.534 million worth of goods to Russia, while the olive and olive oil sector shipped $130.7 million worth of products to Spain.
Compared to the same period in 2022, the grain, legumes, oilseeds and relevant products sector saw a decrease of more than $42.2 million in exports to Iraq.
The fresh fruits and vegetables industry recorded an increase of over $107.7 million in exports to Russia, while the olive and olive oil sector saw an increase of almost $123.7 million in sales to Spain, the data showed.
The olive and olive oil exports to Spain increased from $7 million in the first four months of last year to $130 million in the same period of 2023.
The Turkish metropolis of Istanbul spearheaded the list of provinces and exported $1.17 billion worth of grain, legumes, oilseeds and relevant products.
The southern province of Antalya shipped $306.1 million worth of fresh fruits and vegetables, while the Aegean province of Izmir sold more than $176.3 million worth of olive and olive oil during the January-April period, Daily Sabah reports.
