TGDF Announces Exports of USD 13.8 Billion

**Agriculture, Food and Beverage Sector Records USD 13.8 Billion in Exports and USD 12 Billion in Imports in First Seven Months of 2022** According to the TGDF Digital Data Panel of the Turkey Food and Beverage Industry Associations Federation (TGDF), prepared by Agrimetre based on foreign trade data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute, the agriculture, food and beverage sector achieved USD 13.8 billion in exports and USD 12 billion in imports during the first seven months of 2022. [caption id="attachment_144410" align="aligncenter"] According to the TGDF Digital Data Panel, the agriculture, food and beverage sector achieved USD 13.8 billion in exports and USD 12 billion in imports during the first seven months of 2022.[/caption] Based on calculations that include all GTIP items between chapters 01 to 23 and selected products from chapters 29 and 35, the sector's trade surplus in the first seven months of 2022 fell 32.9% compared to the same period of the previous year. According to foreign trade data released under the Special Trade System (STS), exports in the first seven months of 2022 increased 18.6% compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching USD 13.8 billion, while imports rose 34.3% to USD 11.97 billion. While the sector viewed the 18.6% increase in exports during the first seven months of 2022 compared to the previous year favorably, the import growth rate nearly doubled that figure at 34.3%, drawing attention. In July 2022, monthly exports increased 14.3% compared to the same month of the previous year, reaching USD 1.68 billion, while imports rose 58.8% to USD 1.56 billion. This significant rise in monthly imports drew attention.

Trade surplus falls short of last year's level

Although the sector maintained its net exporter position throughout the year, it lagged behind the trade surplus of the same period last year during the first seven months of 2022. The trade surplus in the first seven months of 2022 fell 32.9% compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching USD 1.83 billion. In the first six months of the year, the trade surplus was 22.12% behind the previous year. The decline in trade surplus accelerated in July. In the early months of the year, the trade surplus was over 50% higher than the previous year. This ratio reached 101.5% in March. However, high monthly import figures in April, May and especially June, combined with a monthly trade deficit recorded in May, dragged down the trade surplus. Unit export value in the first seven months of 2022 increased 10.7% compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching USD 1,184 per ton. Import unit value rose 12.4% year-on-year to USD 694 per ton.

Leading products

The leading export products in the first seven months of 2022 were flour (USD 750 million), refined sunflower oil (USD 580 million) and pasta (USD 540 million), accounting for approximately 13.6% of total exports. The most imported products in the first seven months of 2022 were wheat (USD 1.8 billion), soybeans (USD 1.4 billion) and crude sunflower oil (USD 900 million). These three products accounted for approximately 34.3% of total imports, more than one-third. In July 2022, the leading export products were refined sunflower oil (USD 110 million), wheat flour (USD 102 million) and pasta (USD 77 million). The most imported products during the same period were soybeans (USD 210 million), wheat (USD 165 million) and corn grain (USD 152 million).

Sectors with highest exports

When examining the foreign trade data for the first seven months of 2022 by sector, Sugar and Sugar Products (USD 1.353 billion), Vegetable Oils (USD 1.248 billion), Fresh Fruit (USD 1.119 billion), Tree Nuts (USD 1.031 billion) and Fishing-Aquatic Products (USD 874 million) ranked as the sectors with the highest exports. These five sectors accounted for 40.8% of total exports. In the first seven months of 2022, animal feed (USD 3.734 billion), vegetable oils (USD 2.262 billion), flour (USD 1.989 billion), cocoa-chocolate (USD 380 million) and sugar and sugar products (USD 328 million) ranked as the sectors with the highest imports. These five sectors accounted for 72.6% of total imports, nearly three-quarters. The high level of this ratio and its increase compared to previous periods indicated that imports are concentrated in a small number of sectors. Animal feed alone accounted for USD 3.734 billion in the first seven months of 2022, representing 31.2% of total imports, nearly one-third. The Vegetable Oils Sector, which exceeded USD 3 billion in imports in 2021 and accounted for 17.9% of total imports, accounted for USD 2.262 billion in the first seven months of 2022, representing 18.9% of total imports.

Leading countries

Examining foreign trade data by country for the first seven months of 2022, the top five countries to which we exported were Iraq (USD 2.007 billion), Germany (USD 921 million), Russia (USD 854 million), USA (USD 805 million) and Italy (USD 416 million). Exports to these five countries accounted for 36.3% of total exports. The leading products exported to each country were frozen chicken meat, flour and tomato paste for Iraq; hazelnut kernels, packaged hazelnuts and cherries for Germany; peaches, trout and mandarins for Russia. Examining import data by country, the countries from which we imported the most in the first seven months of 2022 were Russia (USD 3.139 billion), Brazil (USD 1.334 billion), Ukraine (USD 1.325 billion), Malaysia (USD 644 million) and USA (USD 625 million). Imports from these five countries accounted for 59% of total imports. The leading import products were wheat, crude sunflower oil and corn grain from Russia; soybeans, coffee and wheat from Brazil; wheat, corn grain and sunflower oil from Ukraine.