Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Vahit Kirisci stated that Turkiye ranks first in aquaculture compared to European Union countries and said, “We will continue to support our industry and have a say in the world.”
Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Vahit Kirisci, shared on Turkiye’s aquaculture from his social media account.
Pointing out that Turkiye ranks first in aquaculture compared to EU countries, Kirisci said, “While we were producing over 500 thousand tons of aquaculture in 2022, we exported aquaculture to 103 different countries. We will continue to support our industry and have a say in the world.”
2023 target in aquaculture production is 600 thousand tons
According to the statement made by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on the subject, the increasing world and country population increases the demand for food.
Scientists predict that in the next 30 years, the need for animal protein will at least double compared to today. Considering the fact that this need will create a great increase in the demand for aquatic products, most of the countries have turned to support aquaculture investments in order to make the most of the potential of existing water resources.
Considering the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) data, while the world’s aquaculture production was 182 million tons in 2021, 91.2 million tons of this was obtained from hunting and 90.8 million tons from aquaculture. Aquaculture production in Turkiye in 2021 was 799 thousand 844 tons. Of this, 328 thousand 158 tons were obtained from hunting (41.1%) and 471 thousand 686 tons from aquaculture (58.9%). While it is expected that over 500 thousand tons of production will be realized in the aquaculture sector in 2022, the target for 2023 has been determined as 600 thousand tons.
There are 2 thousand 382 aquaculture enterprises in the country. 1829 of these enterprises produce in inland waters and 553 in seas. The capacity is expected to increase even more when bivalve farming in the Sea of Marmara is added, especially with the developments in the Black Sea and new facilities to be put into operation in recent years.
The main species cultivated in the country are trout, sea bass, sea bream and Turkish salmon. In addition to the graniose, which is also called Sariagiz, studies are also being carried out for turbot, fangri, coral, synagrite, catfish and eel farming.
Compared to the European Union countries, Turkiye ranked first in aquaculture in the last 4 years and continues to rise to the top in the world.
Aquaculture exports
Parallel to the increase in aquaculture production, there was an increase in exports. Exports, which were 145 thousand tons in 2016, reached 239 thousand tons in 2021 and 252 thousand tons in 2022. In terms of value, aquaculture exports, which was $1.37 billion in 2021, reached $1.7 billion in 2022. In 2022, aquaculture exports were made to 103 different countries.
Due to the advanced technology used in the aquaculture and processing sector in Turkiye and the high standards of their products, many companies have certification certificates issued by national and international quality management systems.
On the other hand, the fish grown in aquaculture enterprises in the country were selected as the best quality fish in the world and received the ITQI Quality Award in different years.
Aquaculture support
Increasing the diversity of species and the amount of production in all aquatic products, especially fish, which is an important source of protein for healthy nutrition, is among the priorities of the Ministry.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry aims to enable the people to consume more abundantly the aquatic products obtained through hunting and aquaculture, which are the healthiest products for a healthy generation. In this context, fisheries supports are implemented by the General Directorate of Fisheries and Fisheries, taking into account the current situation of the sector and making new arrangements every year.
Within the scope of the supports, a total of ₺1.64 billion has been paid to the sector since 2003. Within the scope of aquaculture in 2022, a support payment of ₺119.34 million was made to producers engaged in aquaculture activities.
Source: Trthaber / Prepared by Irem Yildiz