Turkish olive and olive oil exporters make inroads into Australian market

Turkchem 12 Sep 2024 65 2 dk okuma

Turkish olive and olive oil exporters targeting a 20 percent market share in Australia, the world's 12th-largest economy with per capita income reaching USD 65,000 and rising consumption of table olives and olive oil, completed a 38-hour flight covering 30,000 kilometers to promote Turkish olive and olive oil products.

Eleven Turkish olive and olive oil exporting companies, organized by the Aegean Olive and Olive Oil Exporters Association, conducted a sectoral trade mission to Melbourne, Australia between 1-7 September 2024.

We aim to capture a 20 percent share of the Australian market

Emre Uygun, Chairman of the Aegean Olive and Olive Oil Exporters Association, stated that they aim to capture a 20 percent share of the Australian market, which imports annual olive and olive oil worth USD 200 million, sourcing table olives from Greece and olive oil from Spain. Uygun noted that they held 114 bilateral business meetings with Australian importers, opened a stand as EZZİB at the Fine Food Australia Fair held between 2-5 September 2024, and conducted tastings of Turkish olive and olive oil products for visitors.

Uygun, noting that significant business connections were established during bilateral meetings in Australia, stated: "Australian consumers have strong interest in healthy food products. Olives and olive oil are recognized and preferred by Australian consumers. In this context, the Australian market is one of the high-potential important target markets for Turkish olive and olive oil exporters. To convert this potential into exports, we undertook a round-trip 38-hour flight journey covering 30,000 kilometers. The meetings were highly productive in increasing awareness of Turkish olive and olive oil in Australia and establishing new business partnerships. We visited sector representatives and food importers in Australia. We believe the results of these contacts will materialize in the 2024/25 season," he said.

Recalling that Turkey was the world's second-largest olive oil producer with a harvest of 420,000 tonnes in the 2022-23 season and the world's leading table olive producer with a harvest of 735,000 tonnes, EZZİB Chairman Uygun continued: "We expect a similar harvest in the 2024-25 season. If there are no restrictions on exports, we aim to export 150,000 tonnes of olive oil and over 100,000 tonnes of table olives, exceeding USD 1 billion in exports. To achieve these targets, our marketing activities targeting key markets will continue in the coming period."

Turkish olive and olive oil exporters participating in the Australia Sectoral Trade Mission visited Doğan F. Işık, Consul General of the Republic of Turkey in Melbourne, at his office, and observed the local retail environment by conducting inspection visits to supermarket chains operated by companies engaged in promoting and distributing Turkish food products in Australia.

The Aegean Olive and Olive Oil Exporters Association's Australia Sectoral Trade Mission was attended by Tayfun Kılıç, Deputy Director General of Exports at the Ministry of Commerce, while Hazal Oğuz Sarıkaya, Commercial Attaché in Melbourne, accompanied the Australia contacts and shared information regarding the Australian economy.

The EZZİB Australia delegation included EZZİB Chairman Emre Uygun, EZZİB Vice Chairmen Davut Er and Mehmet Kadri Gündeş, along with representatives from BALSARI YAĞ SAN. VE TİC. LTD. ŞTİ., EGE BARIŞ ZEYTİNCİLİK SAN. VE TİC. LTD. ŞTİ., EGE NKM GIDA SAN. TİC. A.Ş., EROĞLU YERLİ ÜR GIDA HAYV. SAN. VE TİC. LTD. ŞTİ., GÜNKAR İNŞ. GIDA. TEKS. NAK. İTH. İH. SAN. TİC. LTD., SANFORD GIDA TARIM İNŞ. TURZ. SAN. VE TİC. A.Ş., SAVOLA GIDA SAN. TİC. A.Ş., TERMES TARIM SAN. VE TİC. LTD. ŞTİ., UYGUN RAFİNE YAĞ SAN. VE TİC. LTD. ŞTİ., YENİÇAĞ GIDA SAN. VE TİC. A.Ş. and ZER ZEYTİNCİLİK SAN. VE TİC. A.Ş.