Russia raises tomato import quota from Türkiye

ISTANBUL

Russia has increased the quota of tomatoes to be imported from Türkiye by 150,000 tons, the local media have reported.

With a decree issued by the Russian Agriculture Ministry, the annual import quota has been raised from 350,000 tons to 500,000 tons.

Turkish growers welcomed the decision as Russia is a large market for them, saying that production is high enough both to meet the local demand and send more of this produce to the Russian market.

Türkiye annually produces around 13 million tons of tomatoes.

From January to June, Türkiye shipped more than 325 million kilograms of tomatoes to foreign countries, generating $326 million in export revenues.

Russia is an important market for Turkish fruit and vegetable exporters.

According to data from the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TİM), the country’s fresh fruit and vegetable export to Russia grew 9.7 percent in the first half of 2023 compared with January-June last year to $498 million.

Tomato exports to Russia declined from $68 million in 2021 to $33 million last year, Hayrettin Uçak, the president of the Aegean Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Exporters’ Association, told business daily Dünya.

“After the lifting of the quota, we are expecting tomato exports to Russia to recover. Russia may once again become the largest export market for tomato growers,” he said.

With the boost from the expected increase in shipments to Russia, Türkiye’s tomato export revenues may climb to $500 million this year, according to Uçak.