173 kg of fruit, 269 kg of vegetables consumed per person annually in Turkey in 2020

Umut Erdem - ANKARA

A person consumed 173 kilograms of fruits and 269 kilograms of vegetables on average in Turkey in 2020, Turkey’s Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli has said.

Some 14.5 million tons of fruit and some 22.5 million tons of vegetables were consumed overall across the country, Pakdemirli said.

“Comparing the numbers with the 83 million population, a person consumed 173 kilos of fruit and 269 kilos of vegetables in a year,” said Pakdemirli in his response to a parliamentary question by an MP of the opposition İYİ (Good) Party.

The numbers showed that an average Turkish citizen consumed 474 grams of fruit and 737 grams of vegetables daily in 2020.

Apart from the consumption, the minister also highlighted that Turkey is ranked fourth in the world in fruit production and the fifth in vegetable production.

“In 2020, the country broke a record in fresh fruit export,” he said.

The export value reached $2.7 billion with a 21 percent increase since the year before, said the minister in a statement.

December last year recorded the highest export sales at $406 million, the statement added.

“Inactive or frail lands will be added to agriculture production. We will start rehabilitation and rejuvenation with orchards,” noted the minister in the statement.

The ministry promotes unused orchards for production at full capacity with support programs, added Pakdemirli.