Turkish beer popular among Iraqis

The removal of a United Nations embargo on Iraq has revealed that Iraqis prefer to consume Turkish beer over any other.

Iraq ranks on top of a list of countries that have imported beer from Turkey in 2008, according to the “Alcohol and Soft Drinks” report published by Export Promotion Center, or IGEME. Last year Turkey’s beer exports to Iraq were worth $22.1 million. Northern Cyprus followed Iraq’s lead with beer imports worth $6.7 million from Turkey. The country’s beer exports to the United Arab Emirates meanwhile totaled $4.3 million. Azerbaijan rounds out Turkey’s top beer importers at number four with $3.6 million.

Bahrain, Lebanon, Canada and the United Kingdom are also among Turkey’s biggest beer importers.

According to IGEME, beer is atop Turkey's export list when it comes to alcohol beverages. Turkey's beer exports increased 7 percent in 2007 compared to a year earlier and then in 2008 they continued the rising trend with an increase of 35 percent in 2008.

The value of the beer Turkey exported to Iraq in 2006 was $20.8 million and in 2007 it was $18.1 million. That figure rose to $22.1 million in 2008.

Beer is not the only popular drink that comes from Turkey. Rakı, a non-sweet, anise-flavored spirit popular in Turkey, is the second most exported alcoholic beverage.

It was exported to several European Union countries, especially those with large Turkish populations such as Germany. Turkey’s rakı exports to Germany totaled $9.49 million in 2008, while the country’s rakı exports to northern Cyprus totaled $8.28 million.

France imported rakı worth $807,000 from Turkey last year, while Switzerland imported $549,000.

In 2008, Turkey’s wine export dropped nearly 13.5 percent compared to the previous year.

The most wine exports went to Belgium with $2.14 million, followed by northern Cyprus with $2.02 million and Germany with $1.18 million.

Among the alcoholic beverages imported into Turkey, whisky ranked top in 2008. Turkey’s overall whisky import was $8.77 million. The most popular whisky in the country came from the United Kingdom. Eighty-five percent of imported whisky came from the United Kingdom and was worth $7.76 million. Turkey spent $637,000 on whisky from the United States and $143,000 on whisky from Canada.

The second most imported alcoholic beverage in Turkey was wine with $4.56 million. Third runner up was vodka with $4.49 million.