Fresh fruit and vegetable exports exceeded 2 billion dollars

Members of the Aegean Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Exporters Association carried out 202 million dollars of Turkey’s 2 billion 50 million dollar fresh fruit and vegetable exports.

While tomatoes were at the top in exports from the Aegean Region with an amount of 51 million dollars, cherry exports were 49 million dollars. While tangerine ranked third in fresh fruit and vegetable exports from the Aegean Region, foreign exchange income of 11.4 million dollars was obtained from tangerine exports.

Aegean Exporters’ Association Coordinator Vice President and Aegean Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Exporters Association President Hayrettin Ucak stated that, as the fresh fruit and vegetable sector, they achieved the highest export figure in history based on 8-month periods.

Ucak noted that this success was brought about by the efforts of Turkish exporters to export value-added products.

Underlining that they have successfully left the two-thirds of the year behind, President Yavaş said, “In the medium-term program covering the 2024-26 period announced by our government, our export target for the end of 2026 was determined as 302.2 billion dollars. “As the fresh fruit and vegetable sector, we aim to reach an export figure of 5 billion dollars in 2026 by acting together as producers, traders and exporters, and by doing our part in all parts of the chain,” he said.

TOMATOES ARE FIRST

When the exports of the fresh fruit sector in the 8-month period of 2023 were analyzed on a product basis, tomato was the best-selling product with an amount of 351 million dollars. Tomatoes, which demonstrated an export performance of 262 million dollars in the January-August period of 2022, achieved an export increase rate of 34 percent.

Tangerine exporters, who posted an export success of 169 million dollars in the January-August period of 2022, increased their exports to 229 million dollars with an increase of 36 percent in the same time period of 2023.

BIG INCREASE IN CHERRY

A successful season in cherry exports was left behind in 2023. While Turkey achieved cherry exports of 134 million dollars in the 8-month period of 2022, cherry exporters brought 214 million dollars of foreign currency to Turkey with a 60 percent increase in exports in the January-August period of 2023.

TO WHICH COUNTRY IS IT SOLD MOST?

While Russia was by far the country with the most exports with a share of 588 million dollars, Germany increased its exports from 170 million dollars to 241 million dollars with a 42 percent increase in exports and maintained its position as the top partner.

While Turkey exported fresh fruits and vegetables to Romania worth 136 million dollars in the January-August period of 2022, fresh fruit and vegetable exports to Romania increased by 46 percent to 196 million dollars in the same period of 2023.