Türkiye aims for $1.8 billion in dried fruit exports this year

ANKARA

Türkiye aims to generate a total of $1.8 billion in dried fruit exports this year, as demand for such products is growing strong globally as they are increasingly seen as part of a healthy, nutritious diet.

Dried fruit exports climbed from $824 million in the first seven months of last year to $933 million in January-July 2024.

Türkiye ranks first in the world in exports of dried apricots, dried figs and raisins, while it is the second exporter in the global dried fruit market.

Traditionally the European Union is the largest market for Turkish dried fruit exports, with Germany taking the lead in imports from Türkiye. The U.K. for a long time was the second largest market for Turkish dried fruit exporters.

However, recently the U.S. became the second largest buyer of Turkish dried fruit products.

Climate change adversely affects production but not export revenues because prices of those products have risen due to strong demand.

For instance, in the first half of 2024, exports of the dried fruit sector decreased by 12 percent in terms of volume from 227,000 tons to 200,000 tons, but exporters’ earnings increased by 15 percent from $722 million to $829 million.

The average export price per ton of dried fruit exports, which was $3,184 in the first half of 2023, increased by 30 percent to $4,128 in the same period of 2024.