THE GLOBAL WINDOW OF TURKISH FOOD AND AGRICULTURE The Global Window of Turkish Food and Agriculture Sector
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Haluk Okutur, Chairman of the Board of Istanbul Grain, Pulses, Oil Seeds and Products Exporters’ Association (İHBİR), said that they broke the all-time export record as the industry with 7.3 billion dollars in 2020.
In his statement, Haluk Okutur emphasized that despite all the troubles brought by the epidemic and the economic activities coming to a standstill globally, they achieved an increase of 7.35 percent in the export figure, which was 6.8 billion dollars in 2019 and that this was an important success.
Okutur said, “We were not much negatively affected by the epidemic as Turkey’s biggest industry and have maintained our place among the most exporting sector in Turkey.”
Reminding that being a country that can produce food and be self-sufficient with its production is a great advantage, Okutur noted, “The grain sector, which is among those that exports the most in the field of agriculture in our country, continued to maintain its rising graphic. While many countries are experiencing a food crisis and empty shelves, we have not had such a situation in our country. Necessary precautions have even been taken against the risk of the ‘second wave’ and the emergence of other viruses.”
“2023 target is 13.7 billion dollars”
Pointing out that as İHBİR, they carried out the most exports compared to other associations in Istanbul region during this difficult period, Okutur stated, “We closed the year 2020 with 1 billion 984 million dollars, exceeding the 2019 export figure and we continue to work to achieve a higher increase in this field.”
Referring to his expectations and targets for 2021 and the coming years, Okutur continued his words as follows: “Due to the epidemic that has affected the whole world, it is difficult to make a forecast about the developments and world trade in 2021. However, the importance of agriculture and food has come to the top of the agenda of the whole world during the epidemic process.”
“Therefore, we aim to boost our exports considerably in 2021 compared to the last year as Turkey’s largest agricultural sector. Apart from that, our main goal is to reach an export figure of 13.7 billion dollars in 2023,” Okutur added.
