THE GLOBAL WINDOW OF TURKISH FOOD AND AGRICULTURE The Global Window of Turkish Food and Agriculture Sector
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Press release…
Emre Uygun, Chair of the Aegean Olive and Olive Oil Exporters’ Association (EZZİB), stated that the sector has weathered both global and national challenges.
Uygun, who noted that the Turkish olive sector achieved exports of 763 million dollars in the 2023/24 season, said, “Our exports fell by 27 per cent in the 2024/25 season, and we concluded the season with 559 million dollars in foreign exchange revenue.”
Restrictions, levies and bans have led to a poor outcome for olive oil…
“This decline in our olive oil exports cannot be explained solely by the fall in global prices,” noted President Uygun. “The restrictions, levies and bans imposed on bulk and barrel olive oil exports since 2021 have profoundly affected our sector’s competitive strength in international markets. These measures have damaged our country’s reputation as a reliable supplier and paved the way for our market share to shift to rival countries.”
Emre Uygun also emphasised that export bans on olive oil have been imposed three times in recent years and that exporters were not consulted during this process.
Explaining that they did not remain silent in the face of the bans and fought the necessary battles, Uygun underlined, “Our expectation was that solutions to facilitate exports would be presented to us. Our efforts are already focused on finding more markets and increasing value-added exports. Fighting to lift the ban is not the primary duty of the exporters’ association. I wish we did not have to deal with these issues. But unfortunately, certain dynamics within the sector, and at times dynamics abroad, have made it necessary for the Ministry to impose these bans.”
“As for the Inward Processing Regime; what is one of our main priorities? It is to ensure a sustainable supply of raw materials for exporters. The Inward Processing Regime is one such instrument. It is necessary. But we all know very well that attempting to implement this without prior discussion, consultation or bringing together producers, traders and exporters to find a common solution leaves the issue unresolved. Therefore, the Inward Processing Regime (DİR) must always be available for use in exports,” he added…
