According to the Turkish Food and Beverage Industry Associations Federation (TGDF) Digital Data Panel, in the first 6 months of this year, the agriculture, food and beverage industry realized an export of $12.23 billion with an increase of 1.04% compared to the same period last year.
In the statement made by TGDF, TGDF Digital Data Panel data, which was prepared based on the foreign trade data announced by the Turkish Statistical Institute, was shared.
According to the Foreign Trade Data published within the framework of the Special Trade System (OTS), as of June 2023, exports on a monthly basis decreased by 14.73% compared to the same period last year to $1.82 billion, and imports decreased by 8.11% to $1.64 billion.
In the first 6 months of the year, in the agriculture, food and beverage sector, exports amounted to $12.23 billion with an increase of 1.04% compared to the same period last year, and imports of $12.46 billion with an increase of 19.71%.
In the first 6 months of this year, the agriculture, food and beverage sector had a foreign trade deficit. While the Foreign Trade Balance gave a surplus of $1.7 billion in the first 6 months of last year, it gave a deficit of $230 million with a decrease of 113.41% in the same period this year.
In May, the Foreign Trade Balance had a deficit of $390 million in the sector. Thus, the sector had a foreign trade deficit for two consecutive months.
In the first half of this year, the unit export value increased by 13.66% compared to the same period last year, and became 1,325 dollars/ton. Import unit value, on the other hand, decreased by 12.85% compared to the same period last year and became 601 dollars/ton.
Flour export amounted to $683.4 million in 6 months
In the first 6 months of 2023, flour took the first place among the products that stand out in exports with $683.4 million. This product was followed by refined sunflower oil with $493.6 million and hazelnut kernels with $456.4 million. These products constituted approximately 13.3% of total exports as of June.
In the same period, the most imported product was wheat with $2 billion 303 million. After wheat, soybeans with $1 billion 83 million and crude sunflower oil with $917 million took the second place. These 3 products accounted for 34.5% of total imports.
When evaluated on a monthly basis, wheat flour took the first place among the products that stand out in exports in June with $112 million. This product was followed by cherries with $95.7 million and pasta with $74.2 million.
This month, cherry exports took the second place, replacing refined sunflower oil. In the same period, the most imported products were wheat with $260.2 million, soybeans with $190.5 million and crude sunflower oil with $78.1 million.
98% of wheat import comes from Russia and Ukraine
Russia and Ukraine, which took the first place in imports in the first half of the year, continued to be the first two countries to import the most. During this period, $1 billion 654 million of wheat was imported from Russia and $607.8 million from Ukraine. The share of these two countries in the total wheat import was approximately 98%.
The share of the Sugar and Confectionery Industry in total exports was 12.98%, the Vegetable Oil industry 12.27%, the Fresh Fruit industry 9.49%, the Nuts industry 8.55% and the Fisheries and Aquaculture industry 7.74%. Thus, the share of these 5 sectors in total exports reached 43.5%.
When the foreign trade data in the first half of the year is evaluated on a country basis; Iraq was the country to which the most exports were made with $1 billion 395 million.
After Iraq, the highest exports were made to Germany with $889 million, to Russia with $884 million, to the USA with $825 million and to Italy with $401 million.
In the first half of the year, exports to these 5 countries accounted for 35.9% of total exports.
In the same period, imports on a country basis were made from Russia with a maximum of $3 billion 338 million. This country was followed by Ukraine with $2 billion 79 million, Brazil with $961 million, the USA with $542 million and Malaysia with $527 million. Imports from these 5 countries constituted 59.7% of total imports.
“The Turkish economy went through a difficult period in the first 6 months”
Demir Sarman, Chairman of the Turkish Food and Beverage Industry Associations Federation (TGDF), stated that the Turkish economy went through a difficult period in the first 6 months.
Sarman also emphasized that the uncertainty in global food prices, disruptions in the global supply chain and uncertainties in exchange rates, as well as the inflationary environment, adversely affected the pricing policies of the sector and its competitiveness in foreign markets.
Noting that the exports of the agriculture, food and beverage sector maintained their level in the same period last year in the first 6 months of the year, while its imports increased more than the same period last year, Sarman pointed out that since the beginning of this year, the foreign trade surplus in the sector has gradually narrowed due to the slowdown in exports and the increase in imports.
Noting that the Foreign Trade Balance had a deficit in June after May, Sarman said, “Our exports are shrinking due to the conditions in the global market. The predictability of the investment environment and stabilizing measures are important in order to reach a better point in exports.”
Sarman underlined that as the business world, they expect a predictable, stable and reliable market environment to be created with economic measures and rational policies implemented.
Sarman said:
“We need to think about how we can increase our share of the global economy, how we can seize opportunities in world markets and how we can increase growth by quickly overcoming some of our structural problems, especially inflation. We expect that the new steps of the government and the economy management to support exports will be effective, the business world’s problem of access to finance will be resolved, and the policies to be carried out on the main axes such as rationality, efficiency and sustainability will be able to achieve the targets set in the second 6 months of the year. Taking into account the expectations and demands of the sectors and taking initiatives in this regard will be one of the important elements in this process.”
Source: AA / Prepared by Irem Yildiz