ANKARA: Turkey’s agricultural industry saw its exports rise more than 20% and well exceeded $29 billion in 2021, marking an all-time high, according to official data.
Agricultural foreign sales were up 22.2% to reach nearly $29.74 billion, the data compiled from the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) showed.
The industry accounted for 13.2% of Turkey’s overall exports last year, which had surged by more than a third to hit an all-time high of nearly $225.4 billion.
Cereals, pulses and oilseeds drove the industry-related sales with $9.15 billion, the data showed, followed by furniture paper and forestry products with nearly $7 billion, water products and animal products with $3.4 billion, fresh fruits and vegetables with over $3 billion and hazelnut products with $2.26 billion.
Ornamental plants and products posted the highest annual increase in exports last year with over 39%, followed by water products and animal products with 38.8%, furniture paper and forestry products with 25.7% and cereals, pulses and oilseeds with 25.6%.
Germany and Iraq were the largest buyers of the Turkish agricultural industry. Germany was the top market for hazelnut products ($536.4 million), dried fruits and products ($232.8 million) and fruits and vegetables ($274.3 million), while Iraq was the biggest buyer of cereals, pulses and oilseeds ($1.63 billion), furniture paper and forestry products ($964.7 million) and water products and animal products ($555.7 million).
The United States was the top market for tobacco ($105 million) and olive and olive-related products ($60.6 million), the Netherlands opted most for ornamental plants and products ($53.9 million), while Russia remained the top buyer of fresh fruit and vegetables ($1.14 billion).
