Türkiye’s aquaculture ranks first among EU nations

ISTANBUL

Türkiye moved to the top spot in aquaculture production in the past four years, surpassing all EU member states, according to the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry.

The industry generated $1.7 billion in export revenues in 2022, shipping products to 103 countries.

Production of the sector, which was more than 500,000, is expected to be around 600,000, the ministry said.

In 2021, production stood at nearly 800,000 tons, of which 471,000 tons accounted for aquaculture farming and 328,000 tons for fishing.

There are nearly 2,400 facilities operating in the aquaculture farming industry. Some 1,800 of those are inland and 533 are marine facilities.

Those facilities engage mostly in trout, bass, bream and Turkish salmon production.

In line with the increase in production, the industry’s exports also rose over the years. The industry’s exports climbed from 145,000 tons in 2016 to 239,000 tons in 2021 and further rose to 252,000 tons last year. Export revenues stood at $1.37 billion in 2021.

Since 2003, the government provided a total of 1.64 billion Turkish Liras in financial support to the industry. In 2022 alone, the amount was 119 million liras.