THE GLOBAL WINDOW OF TURKISH FOOD AND AGRICULTURE The Global Window of Turkish Food and Agriculture Sector
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Press release…
August 2026…
The export journey of the Bursa Black fig and the Sarılop fresh fig – in which Türkiye is a world leader in both production and export – kicks off…
Having earned 94 million dollars in foreign exchange from fresh fig exports in 2025, Türkiye is targeting 100 million dollars in exports for 2026.
Cengiz Balık, Chairman of the Aegean Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Exporters’ Association, who announced that the country had earned 94 million dollars in foreign exchange from the export of 20,112 tonnes of fresh figs in 2025 – a 17 percent increase – said the following:
“Our black fig exports totalled 76 million dollars, a 22 percent increase, whilst our exports of fresh ‘sarılop’ figs amounted to 17 million dollars. Of the black fig exports, 22 million dollars – an 8 percent increase – went to Germany; Austria was our second-largest export destination with 10 million dollars, a 32 percent increase; whilst Russia rose to third place with 8 million dollars, a 249 percent increase in our black fig exports. Our exports of black figs to the UK rose by 44 percent to 8 million dollars. We exported 6 million dollars’ worth to the Netherlands, a 7 percent increase. The leading destinations for our fresh ‘sarılop’ fig exports were: Germany, to which we exported 7 million dollars, a 5 percent increase; Russia, to which we exported 4 million dollars and Austria, to which we exported 3 million dollars, a 161 percent increase.”
Turkish Cargo partnership to support fresh fig exports…
“This season, thanks to favourable weather conditions for production, we expect the harvest to be higher than last year. In addition to the spike in production, we anticipate that product quality will also meet the expectations of export markets. We believe that strong demand in our traditional markets, particularly in Europe, will continue. Furthermore, we are continuing our efforts to ramp up our exports to alternative markets such as the Far East and the Gulf states,” he noted.
Highlighting that for high-value-added products such as fresh figs, where preserving freshness is of paramount importance, he added, “We expect the discounted air freight facilities provided under the Turkish Cargo partnership – renewed for the seventh time between Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TİM) and Turkish Airlines (THY) – to make a significant contribution to our exports in the 2026 season. Through the collaboration of our producers, exporters and all sector stakeholders, we are confident that we will achieve our target of 100 million dollars in fresh fig exports for the 2026 season.”
