All-time 10-month high for Turkey’s agricultural exports

Turkey is enjoying a golden period for agricultural exports.

The 10 months from January to October recorded the nation’s best returns for foreign sales ever.

While many other countries are struggling, the produce of Turkey’s farmers is earning the economy a much-needed boost, according to official figures.

In the first 10 months of this year Turkey has earned more than $27 billion from shipments of farm produce.

That equates to a year-on-year increase of 17.3 per cent January-October.

The figures, compiled by the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) show agri-cultural exports in this period accounted to more than 13 per cent of Turkey’s overall foreign sales – which also set an all-time 10-month high at $209.5 billion, up 15.4 per cent on the same period last year.

Turkey is pushing hard to find new markets for its produce – in part to make up for the loss of Russia and Ukraine exports hit by the war – as it pushes to reach the $250 billion target for 2022 exports set by the government.

Turkish shipments of cereals, pulses and oil seeds products jumped 27.3 per cent to a record $9.3 billion – reaching more than $1 billion in October alone, marking the highest ever level on a monthly basis.

Fruit and vegetables also reached their all-time high sales in the January-October period, rising 24.6 per cent to $2 billion.

Sales of aquaculture and animal products rose 25.8 per cent to $3.36 billion, while those of dried fruit were up three per cent to $1.6 billion, the data showed.

Iraq was the top buyer of Turkish agricultural products, receiving $1.92 billion worth of cereals, pulses and oil seeds products, $339 million worth of fruits and vegetables and $633.7 million worth of aquaculture and animal products.

Meanwhile, the head of a bakery union has talked himself into jail in Ankara for “publicly insulting the Turkish nation” over its eating habits.

Union for Bread Producers chairman Cihan Kolivar said: “Bread is the staple food for stupid societies. I speak scientifically, I am not making it up – per capita consumption is 210 kilos in Turkey; and 45-50 kilos in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, England, Japan.

“Since our society eats their fill with bread, such rulers have been ruling it for 20 years.”

Inflation in Turkey during October climbed to a 24-year high of 85.5 per cent, having started to surge last year as the lira slumped.