Export Figures for the Agriculture, Food and Beverage Sector

Agriculture, Food and Beverage Sector January Export Figures In the first month of 2023, the agriculture, food and beverage sector achieved USD 2.2 billion in exports and USD 1.9 billion in imports. Based on Foreign Trade Data released by Turkey's Statistical Institute (TÜİK) and prepared by Agrimetre, according to the Turkey Food and Beverage Industry Associations Federation (TGDF) Digital Data Panel, in January 2023 the agriculture, food and beverage sector achieved USD 2.2 billion in exports and USD 1.9 billion in imports. According to calculations including all HS code items between chapters 01 and 23, and selected products from chapters 29 and 35, the sector's foreign trade surplus in January 2023 declined by 21 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. According to foreign trade data released under the Special Trade System (ÖTS), in January 2023 exports increased by 9.9 percent compared to the same month of the previous year, reaching USD 2.18 billion, while imports rose by 16.1 percent to USD 1.92 billion.

Foreign trade surplus narrowed

Although the sector maintained its position as a net exporter in January 2023, imports and exports occurred at similar levels, and the foreign trade surplus declined compared to the previous year. In the first month of 2023, the foreign trade surplus fell by 21.2 percent compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching USD 0.26 billion. The unit export value increased by 23.4 percent in January 2023 compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching USD 1,290 per ton. The import unit value rose by 4.1 percent compared to the previous year to USD 650 per ton.

Leading products in foreign trade

In January 2023, the leading export products were flour (USD 126.7 million), refined sunflower oil (USD 101.7 million) and in-shell hazelnuts (USD 90.8 million), accounting for approximately 14.6 percent of total exports. The most imported products in January 2023 were wheat (USD 347.8 million), crude sunflower oil (USD 151 million) and soybeans (USD 147.9 million). These 3 products accounted for approximately 33.7 percent of total imports, or one-third.

The top 2 imported products are largely sourced from Russia and Ukraine

In January 2023, wheat, ranking first in imports (USD 347.8 million), was most imported from Russia (USD 275.5 million) and Ukraine (USD 66.2 million), which have been at war since 2022. In January 2023 wheat imports, the share of these 2 countries exceeded 98 percent. Crude sunflower oil, ranking second in imports, accounted for USD 151 million in imports in January 2023. These 2 countries' share in crude sunflower oil imports was 100 percent, meaning all imports came from Ukraine (USD 110.8 million) and Russia (USD 40.2 million). The vast majority of Turkey's top 2 imported products came from Russia and Ukraine, which have been at war since the start of 2022.

Leading export sectors

When foreign trade data for January 2023 are examined by sector, vegetable oils (USD 253 million), sugar and sugar products (USD 227 million), fresh fruit (USD 215 million), tree nuts (USD 158 million) and fishing-aquatic products sectors (USD 140 million) ranked as the top export sectors. These 5 sectors accounted for 45.6 percent of total exports. In January 2023, animal feed (USD 469 million), vegetable oils (USD 392 million), flour (USD 369 million), sugar and sugar products (USD 70 million) and cocoa and chocolate (USD 58 million) sectors ranked as the top import sectors. These 5 sectors accounted for 70.7 percent of total imports, nearly three-quarters. The high ratio and its increase compared to previous periods showed that imports were concentrated in a small number of sectors. The animal feed sector, which accounted for 27.8 percent of total imports with a volume of USD 5.674 billion in 2022, accounted for 24.4 percent of total imports with USD 469 million in January 2023. The Vegetable Oil Sector accounted for 17.9 percent of total imports with imports exceeding USD 3 billion in 2021, and 19.7 percent of total imports with USD 4.016 billion in 2022. In the first month of 2023, it also accounted for 20.4 percent of total imports with USD 392 million in imports.

Sectors with increasing and declining exports

The sectors that most increased their exports in value in January 2023 compared to the same period of the previous year were the vegetable oil sector (USD 88 million increase), sugar and sugar products sector (USD 45 million increase), seed sector (USD 32 million increase), pulses sector (USD 21 million increase) and fresh fruit sector (USD 19 million increase). The sectors that most declined their exports in the same period were the tree nuts sector (USD 40 million decline), dairy and dairy products sector (USD 18 million decline), poultry sector (USD 15 million decline), paste and canned products sector (USD 9 million decline) and live animal trade sector (USD 9 million decline). The sectors with the largest value increases in imports in 2023 were the flour sector (USD 126 million increase), vegetable oils sector (USD 63 million increase), sugar and sugar products sector (USD 44 million increase), live animal trade sector (USD 31 million increase) and rice milling sector (USD 29 million increase). The sectors with the largest import declines in the same period were the animal feed sector (USD 106 million decline), egg production sector (USD 3 million decline), dry fruit/vegetable sector (USD 2 million decline), starch sector (USD 1 million decline) and fruit juice sector (USD 1 million decline).

Leading countries in foreign trade

When foreign trade data for January 2023 are examined by country, the top 5 countries we export to most were Iraq (USD 227 million), Russia (USD 179 million), USA (USD 153 million), Germany (USD 137 million) and Italy (USD 72 million). Exports to these 5 countries accounted for 35.2 percent of total exports. The products we exported most to each country were flour, frozen chicken meat, red lentils for Iraq; mandarins, sunflower seeds, lemons for Russia; packaged olive oil, soybeans, chewing gum jelly candies for the USA. When import data by country are examined, the countries from which we imported most in January 2023 were Russia (USD 504 million), Ukraine (USD 373 million), USA (USD 106 million), Malaysia (USD 103 million) and Brazil (USD 57 million). Imports from these 5 countries accounted for 59.5 percent of total imports. Turkey's top 2 import sources remain Russia and Ukraine, which are still at war, with imports from these 2 countries accounting for 45.7 percent of total imports. Russia's sole share in total imports was 26.3 percent. Leading import products were wheat, corn, crude sunflower oil for Russia; crude sunflower oil, soybeans, wheat for Ukraine; soybeans, ethylene glycol, soybean meal for the USA. Source