THE GLOBAL WINDOW OF TURKISH FOOD AND AGRICULTURE The Global Window of Turkish Food and Agriculture Sector
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In an article we wrote in 2017, we touched upon the subject of “Black Sea Salmon is Promising” and shared some information about salmon. Salmon stands out as the most important source of omega-3. It attracts attention as Norway’s tens of billions of dollars worth of exports. The fact that the fish is so commercially prominent has also caused it to be the first transgenic animal to be registered commercially.
Studies on the production of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), which entered Turkish cuisine as an imported fish, in our country began in the late 1980s with the participation of local and foreign entrepreneurs. Production trials in cages in the Black Sea, which lasted for years, were terminated because the water temperature was not suitable for the sustainable economic cultivation of the fish.
In the same years, the rapid growth of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) grown in the Black Sea streams when they were fed in cages in the seas accelerated Turkish salmon cultivation. With its ease of processing and sales potential, this species has triggered the development of cage fishing in both the Black Sea and inland dams and ponds. Thus, the production of Turkish salmon, which opened export doors, reached 78 thousand tons in 2023. This production has been actually triggered by exports. Following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, EU countries began to impose sanctions on this country. In this context, the suspension of the sale of Norwegian Atlantic salmon to Russia provided Turkish salmon with an export opportunity. Of course, when some other features were also compatible with the fish consumption of Far Eastern countries, Turkish salmon exports increased to 498 million dollars in 2024. Thus, Türkiye’s seafood industry reached a historical turning point by exceeding the 2 billion dollar export limit for the first time in 2024, while Turkish salmon took over the aquaculture export flag together with 570 million dollar sea bass and 507 million dollar sea bream.
In this period when the spike in trout consumption that could not be achieved in the early 2000s brought the sector to a deadlock, the cage fishing of pink-fleshed and boneless Turkish salmon in the Black Sea seems to have created an opportunity to close the protein gap of the Turkish society experiencing meat shortage. A good opportunity was seized to boost our fish consumption (6 kg/person/year), which is below the world average (22 kg/person/year) and even the African average (10 kg/person/year). Considering the successful trout farming carried out in the Black Sea Region, the Ministry of Agriculture set out to identify suitable potential areas in order to encourage the production of “Rainbow Trout – Turkish salmon” and announced to the public the production areas with a capacity of 8500 tons/year in Artvin, 12000 tons/year in Giresun and 32000 tons/year in Sinop, 5 km inland from the coast. Producers who also benefit from the ministry’s grant support have ramped up their production to the present day with an average increase of around 25% every year.
As it is known, 1.1 kg of feed can be enough for farmed fish to gain 1 kg of body mass. This amount is 1.7 kg for poultry and 6.6 kg for cattle.
We witness striking systems behind the success in salmon production. For example, when we look at the partners and stakeholders of the closed-circuit egg production facility in Black Sea’s Trabzon province, we can see many organizations as a single fist: Trabzon Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry, Black Sea Technical University (KTÜ), Eastern Black Sea Exporters’ Association (DKİB), Sürmene Municipality, Aquatic Products Central Research Institute (SUMAE) and Trabzon Inland Aquaculture Producers’ Association.
In studies conducted at Sinop University, it was determined that total omega-3 fatty acids (12.96%) in Turkish salmon are higher than in Atlantic salmon (11.46%).
Finally, it is striking that the annual increase in export prices of Turkish salmon, which was 4.73 dollars in 2020, surged by 25 percent to 5.78 dollars in 2021 and by 25 percent to 7.1 dollars in 2022.
R&D efforts should be increasingly continued throughout the country to export Turkish salmon with even higher added value…
By Professor Dr. Nazimi Açıkgöz,
