Mediterranean Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Exporters' Association Board Chairman Ferhat Gürüz announced that Turkey's fresh fruit and vegetable exports in 2024 reached 3,4 billion dollars. Emphasizing that the Mediterranean Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Exporters' Association, which carries out the coordination and secretariat services of the fresh fruit and vegetable sector, achieved 2024 billion dollars of exports in 1,54, Chairman Ferhat Gürüz stated that the Çukurova Region was the locomotive of the sector's exports this year as well.
Noting that the Turkish fresh fruit and vegetable sector passed December with an export of 350,5 million dollars and that regional exports during this period were at the level of 198 million dollars, President Gürüz reported that the most demanded products in the annual performance were tangerine, tomato and lemon, and that they achieved the highest values in the Russian, German and Romanian markets.
“We make effective promotions at international fairs that guide the development of the sector”
President Ferhat Gürüz said, “We successfully organized our country’s national participation in international fairs that guide the development of the sector in order to create new markets, expand our activities in existing markets, increase our international awareness, promote our country’s products in the best way possible and establish new connections in 2024. Fairs in Russia, Spain, Germany, Hong Kong and Canada bring together all stakeholders of the fresh fruit and vegetable sector and create important platforms for the promotion of products and the display of innovative technologies. We also highlight our sustainable, high-quality and rich product range that inspires confidence from farm to table at international fairs.”
“We are running promotional campaigns in the Russian, German and Polish markets”
Underlining that they attach great importance to promotional campaigns in order to increase the recognition of Turkish products in international markets, President Ferhat Gürüz stated that they prioritize promotional activities in the Russian, German and Polish markets within the scope of the Turquality program, and that in the campaigns they organize in these countries, they carry out promotional films, TV programs, social media and outdoor activities with content that highlights Turkish fresh fruit and vegetables in terms of quality, product image, natural-organic and healthy qualities, price and competitiveness and sustainable agriculture.
“Our export target for 2028 is 6,2 billion dollars”
Reminding that Turkey has set 2028 targets for total exports of goods in 375 according to the Medium Term Program, President Ferhat Gürüz said, “An average of 55 million tons of approximately 5 million dollars of fresh fruit and vegetable production is exported throughout our country. We have more than enough potential to double our export figures. We aim to export 2028 billion dollars worth of fresh fruit and vegetables by the end of 6,2 by meeting macro needs in terms of financing, customs capacity, logistics, production, labor, technical barriers, legislation, and technology.”
“We realized 27 percent of our total exports to Russia”
Evaluating the annual exports of the sector according to product groups and countries, Chairman Gürüz said the following: “In the past year, we evaluated 4 million 193 thousand tons of products in international markets. In the mentioned period, tangerine ranked first with a value of 476 million dollars, tomato ranked second with a value of 427 million dollars, and lemon ranked third with a value of 357 million dollars. Last year, we achieved the highest increases in export volume in potatoes, plums, peaches, oranges, apricots, pomegranates, and figs. The top three countries on the list of countries to which our sector exports the most were Russia, Germany, and Romania. We exported 872,3 million dollars to Russia, 354 million dollars to Germany, and 289 million dollars to Romania. The countries to which we achieved the highest increases in export volume in 2024 were Iraq, Georgia, and Saudi Arabia.”
