Cereals exports hit $6.3 billion in seven months

ISTANBUL

Türkiye’s cereals exports increased by 31.4 percent in the January-July period from a year ago to stand at $6.26 billion, according to Istanbul Cereals, Pulses, Oil Seeds and Products Exporters’ Association (İHBİR).

In July alone, exports grew by 22.4 percent on an annual basis to $181.5 million.

The main export market for local growers were Iraq, the United States and Algeria last month, İHBİR said.

“Despite many challenges which affect revenues, upward trend in exports has been continuing since May 2021,” commented Kazım Taycı, chair of İHBİR, citing the war between Russia and Ukraine, restrictions imposed on several products through those adverse developments.

Taycı links the continuing strong performance in export to Türkiye’s geographical location, which offers advantages in logistics, and the shifts in supply chains that works to the country’s advantage.

“We need to work to establish a permanent presence in the countries which growers and exports sell products to and identify the distribution channels in those markets. We need to be in the field in those markets to understand how we should distribute our products. This is very crucial not lose those markets once the supply chains return to the pre-COVID situation,” he said.

Türkiye’s overall exports grew by 19 percent in the first seven months of the year compared with the same period of 2021 to $144.4 billion.

The agriculture sector’s exports increased by 20 percent year-on-year to $18.79 billion in January-July, capturing a 13 percent share in the country’s total exports.

Plant product exports rose by 15.8 percent annually to $11.69 billion in the first seven months of 2022.