Agriculture sector’s exports top $36 billion last year

ANKARA

The Turkish agriculture sector’s export revenues grew by 3.3 percent last year from 2023 to reach an all-time high of $36.2 billion.

The sector’s share in the country’s overall exports was 16 percent.

Two of the 10 sub-sectors recorded the highest annual exports of all time, according to data from the Türkiye Exporters’ Assembly (TİM).

Fruit and vegetable shipments to foreign markets increased by 1.2 percent in 2024 to $2.7 billion, while dried fruit exports rose by 0.8 percent to $1.9 billion.

The U.S. and Germany were the main export markets for those two sub-sectors last year.

Germany imported $247.3 million worth of dried fruit from Türkiye in 2024, while fruit and vegetable exports to the U.S. amounted to $429.4 million.

Fruit and vegetable exports from Istanbul totaled $637 million and dried fruit shipments from İzmir were $481.6 million in 2024.

At a time when climate change and food safety issues across the world are prompting countries to adopt more protectionist policies, Türkiye emerging as a reliable and sustainable supplier, said Melisa Tokgöz Mutlu, the board chair of the Istanbul Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Exporters Association.

“Its high-tech factories and ability to offer 'tailor-made' products depending on customer demand give Türkiye an important advantage in world markets,” she explained.

Türkiye aims for $40 billion in agricultural exports in the coming years, Mutlu said, adding that sustainable growth, the adoption of climate-friendly agricultural policies and the dissemination of environmentally friendly production methods are critical to achieve this goal.