TGDF Announces Exports of $20.2 Billion

According to the TGDF Digital Data Panel prepared by Agrimetre based on Foreign Trade Data announced by the Turkish Statistical Institute, the agriculture, food and beverage sector achieved USD 20.2 billion in exports and USD 17 billion in imports during the first 10 months of 2022. According to calculations that include all HS items between chapters 01 and 23 as well as selected products from chapters 29 and 35, the sector's foreign trade surplus in the first 10 months of 2022 fell 28.2% 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 10 months of 2022 increased 15.5% compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching USD 20.17 billion, while imports rose 30.3% to USD 17 billion. In October 2022, monthly export value increased 4.2% compared to the same month of the previous year, reaching USD 2.25 billion, while imports rose 20.5% to USD 1.53 billion.   Foreign trade surplus falls short of previous year Although the sector maintained its net exporter position throughout the year, it fell short of the previous year's foreign trade surplus. In the first 10 months of 2022, the foreign trade surplus declined 28.2% compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching USD 3.17 billion. In the first months of the year, the foreign trade surplus was over 50% of the previous year. In March, this rate reached 101.5%. However, high monthly import figures in April, May and especially June, and a monthly foreign trade deficit in May, pushed down the foreign trade surplus. In the first 6 months of the year, the foreign trade surplus was 22.1% below the previous year, and while this decline continued through the summer months, a slowdown in the decline was observed in the autumn months. Unit export value in the first 10 months of 2022 increased 12.5% compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching USD 1,200 per ton. Import unit value rose 18.2% compared to the previous year to USD 695 per ton.

Leading export products

In the first 10 months of 2022, the leading export products were Wheat flour (USD 1.20 billion), Refined sunflower oil (USD 0.90 billion) and Pasta (USD 0.80 billion), with these products representing approximately 14.4% of total exports. The most imported products in the first 10 months of 2022 were Wheat (USD 2.6 billion), Soybeans (USD 1.9 billion) and Crude sunflower oil (USD 1.3 billion). These 3 products accounted for approximately 34.1% of total imports, more than one-third. In October 2022, the leading export products were Wheat flour (USD 133.6 million), Hazelnut kernels (USD 108.1 million) and Refined sunflower oil (USD 106.1 million). During the same period, the most imported products were Wheat (USD 271.3 million), Crude sunflower oil (USD 130.6 million) and Soybeans (USD 106 million).

Sectors with highest exports

When analyzing foreign trade data for the first 10 months of 2022 by sector, Sugar and Sugar Products (USD 2,080 million), Vegetable Oils (USD 1,892 million), Fresh Fruits (USD 1,584 million), Tree Nuts (USD 1,461 million) and Fishing-Aquaculture (USD 1,256 million) ranked as the sectors with the highest exports. These 5 sectors accounted for 41% of total exports. In the first 10 months of 2022, Animal Feed (USD 4,927 million), Vegetable Oils (USD 3,360 million), Wheat flour (USD 2,888 million), Sugar and Sugar Products (USD 658 million) and Cocoa-Chocolate (USD 506 million) ranked as the sectors with the highest imports. 72.6% of total imports, nearly three-quarters, were accounted for by these 5 sectors. The high share of this ratio and its increase compared to previous periods indicated that imports were concentrated in a small number of sectors. The Animal Feed sector accounted for USD 4,927 million in the first 10 months of 2022, representing 29% of total imports, approximately one-third. The Vegetable Oils sector accounted for 17.9% of total imports in 2021 with imports exceeding USD 3 billion. In the first 10 months of 2022, it also accounted for 19.8% of total imports at USD 3,360 million.