Fruit, vegetable exports exceed $2 billion in eight months

ISTANBUL

Türkiye’s fresh fruit and vegetable exports increased by 16 percent in January-August from a year ago to exceed $2 billion.

“This marked the highest export for any eight-month period on record,” said Hayrettin Uçak, the president of the Aegean Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Exporters’ Association.

Tomatoes exports took the lead among all produce with $351 million in the first eight months of the year, rising 34 percent on an annual basis, according to Uçak.

Tangerine shipments to foreign markets grew 36 percent year-on-year to $229 million in the same period, while cherry exports leaped 60 percent to $214 million.

Members of the association accounted for $200 million of the country’s total fresh fruit and vegetable exports, Uçak said.

Russia was the largest market for Turkish growers, he added. Shipments to this country amounted to $588 million in the first eight months of 2023, according to Uçak.

Exports to Germany increased by 42 percent from a year ago, from $170 million to $241 million, making it the second-largest export market.

Fresh fruit and vegetable sales to Romania also increased from $136 million in the January-August period of 2022 to $196 million in the first eight months of 2023.

Turkish fresh fruit and vegetable growers set the export revenue target at $5 billion in 2026, Uçak said.

From January to August, Türkiye’s total exports fell by 0.4 percent compared with the same period of 2022 to $165 billion.

The agriculture sector’s exports grew 4.9 percent to $22.5 billion during this period, accounting for 4.9 percent of the country’s all export revenues.