THE GLOBAL WINDOW OF TURKISH FOOD AND AGRICULTURE The Global Window of Turkish Food and Agriculture Sector
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Press release…
September, 2026…
The Interfresh Eurasia Fair brought together buyers from 80 countries in Izmir…
The Interfresh Eurasia Fruit, Vegetable, Packaging, Storage, Logistics, Agricultural Machinery and Technologies Fair—one of the most important international gatherings in Türkiye’s fresh fruit and vegetable and processed fruit and vegetable sectors—opened its doors for the third time in Izmir.
Speaking at the fair’s opening ceremony, Dr. Mehmet Ali Kılıçkaya, Director General of Exports at the Ministry of Trade, stated that agricultural product exports in the first eight months of 2026 had risen by 4.8 percent compared to the same period last year, reaching 21.7 billion dollars.
Exports of fresh fruit, vegetables and processed products exceeded 4 billion dollars in eight months…
Indicating that the fresh fruit and vegetable sector constitutes one of the key components of the agricultural sector’s robust structure, Kılıçkaya said, “In 2025, our exports of fresh fruit and vegetables stood at 3.2 billion dollars, whilst exports of processed fruit and vegetable products reached 2.6 billion dollars. In the first eight months of 2026, our fresh fruit and vegetable exports rose by 45 percent compared to the same period last year, reaching 2.3 billion dollars. During the same period, our exports of processed fruit and vegetable products stood at 1.6 billion dollars.“
“Thus, when we consider fresh fruit and vegetables together with processed products, we have reached an export volume of approximately 4 billion dollars in the first eight months of the year. This is where the real opportunity lies for us. We aim to transform our strong production capacity in fresh produce into higher added value through processing, packaging, technology, branding and innovative products,” he noted.
“Our aim for the coming period is not merely to export more products; it is to strengthen an export structure characterised by higher unit value, market sustainability and greater value added remaining within our country. One of the strongest centres of this transformation is undoubtedly Izmir. Izmir province, which throughout history has been one of Anatolia’s key trade gateways to the world, remains today one of our country’s leading cities in foreign trade thanks to its culture of production, port infrastructure and strong export ecosystem. In 2025, Izmir’s total exports stood at 23.6 billion dollars, with agricultural products accounting for approximately 4.3 billion dollars of this figure,” he explained.
“As the Ministry of Trade, we are establishing a robust support ecosystem that enables our companies not only to produce their goods but also to expand globally, enter new markets and establish a lasting presence in those markets. We stand by our exporters across a very broad spectrum, from trade fair support and trade and procurement delegations to International Competitiveness Development Programme (UR-GE) projects, branding and the TURQUALITY programmes. We are currently running 48 active UR-GE projects involving 1,225 companies in the agricultural sector. In the agriculture and food sector, 48 of our brands are supported under our Branding and TURQUALITY programmes. We also view trade fairs as one of the most effective tools for entering new markets,” he added.
Pointing out that in 2026, they are supporting 200 trade fairs in the agriculture, food and food technology sectors through individual participation and 56 trade fairs through national participation, he concluded, “Six trade fairs organised in our country are also included in our support programme. We have increased the funding allocated to our exporters for all these initiatives from 33 billion TL in 2025 to 45 billion TL in 2026.”
