The market share of Turkish products in ketchup, mayonnaise, and sauce categories is gradually increasing in Europe and the USA. Turkey exported approximately $19.4 million in tomato-based sauces, $157 million in tomato paste, and $15 million in mayonnaise last year.
Assan Foods General Manager Hakan Kocoglu told AA correspondent that the process of the new type of coronavirus (Covid-19) epidemic negatively affected social and economic life worldwide and that the food sector came to the fore in this process.
Stating that the importance of trust and continuity in food has increased, Kocoglu said that in the epidemic, the export potential in the food sector in Turkey increased.
Kocoglu stated that Assan Foods, which is Turkey’s largest producer in ketchup, mayonnaise and sauce categories, is also the first sauce exporter of the country, and that they export ketchup, mayonnaise, tomato paste and pepper paste as well as value-added sauces.
Turkey’s mark on industrial tomato production
Giving the information that Turkey is among the top 5 industrial tomato producing countries in the world, Kocoglu stated that the other 4 countries are the USA, China, Italy, and Spain, and these are among the countries most affected by the epidemic.
Noting that global competition has increased with the epidemic, Kocoglu said:
“After the pandemic, we started receiving demand from different markets and increased the number of markets to which we export with our own brand. For example, there is a tax of over 14% on Turkey’s tomato paste purchases in Europe. For this reason, there was a price disadvantage, but now we started exporting to Belgium with our own brand. There is a similar situation in the US market. We will further increase the market share of Turkish products in ketchup, mayonnaise, and sauce categories in Europe and the USA.”
Stating that Assan Foods has achieved a 90% increase in foreign trade in Turkey with its export activities, Kocoglu stated that the country’s ketchup and tomato-based sauce exports amounted to approximately $19.4 million, tomato paste export was $157 million and mayonnaise exports amounted to $15 million in 2020.
Export to 50 countries in 4 continents
Stating that Assan Foods has more than 300 product types, Kocoglu said:
“Assan Foods achieved double-digit growth in 2020. 30% of our business is tomato paste, 35% ketchup, and the rest is mayonnaise and sauce. We have a very balanced distribution among our categories. We export to 50 countries in 4 different continents, both with our Colorado, Kingtom, and Oba brands and in the field of ‘private label’. With our own brands and private label, we produce tomato paste for many countries in the Middle East, Caucasus, and Africa, and ketchup, mayonnaise, and sauce products especially for large chain markets in the Far East and Europe. Our ketchup, TexMex, and pasta sauces are very popular in European countries. We also produce and sell tomato paste, pepper paste, and pepper juice as raw materials to multinational companies in many countries of the world.”
Source: AA / Translated by Irem Yildiz