Exports of the Turkish agriculture sector have displayed their best first-quarter figure, achieving a record in foreign sales and proving to be resilient in the face of the geopolitical risks and difficulties related to the global food supply.
Outbound shipments of agricultural products soared 8.6% year-over-year in the January-March period to $9.3 billion (TL 301.37 billion), the data compiled by Anadolu Agency (AA) from the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) showed on Monday.
The sales accounted for some 14.6% of Türkiye’s overall exports, which rose 3.6% on an annual basis to $63.7 billion in the stated period, according to official figures.
Sales have shown to be buoyant despite ongoing geopolitical developments, including Israel's war on Gaza and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which entered its third year this February.
Five out of the 10 sectors operating in the field broke their export records.
Outbound shipments of cereals, pulses, oilseeds and their products took the lion's share with sales worth $3.1 billion in the January-March period.
At the same time, exports of fresh fruits and vegetables amounted to $963.6 million, followed by $708.3 million worth of exports of other fruit and vegetable products, $497.6 million of dried fruit and products and $49.1 million in ornamental plants and products.
Compared to the same period last year, cereals, pulses, oilseeds and their products registered a 7% increase in exports, while fresh fruits and vegetables showed a 2.6% increase. Other fruit and vegetable products saw a 28.9% surge, while dried fruits and their products witnessed a 29.9% increase and ornamental plants and products registered a 2.1% rise in exports year-over-year.
Looking at exports by country, grains, pulses, oilseeds and their sectors achieved $583.8 million in exports to Iraq, while the fresh fruit and vegetable sector stood at the forefront in exports to Russia, bringing in $216.9 million.
At the same time, fruit and vegetable products worth $109.4 million were exported to the United States, while Germany ranked first in exports of dried fruits and related products with $61.6 million. The ornamental plants and products sector saw $10.7 million in exports to the Netherlands.
In terms of provinces, Istanbul was the top exporter of cereals, pulses, oilseeds and their products with $903.7 million and $197.6 million worth of fruit and vegetable products. Southern Mersin province sold $263.8 million worth of fresh fruits and vegetables, while western Izmir province exported $160.6 million worth of dried fruit and products. The ornamental plants and products sector generated $20.6 million in exports from the southern Mediterranean province of Antalya.
