Türkiye ranks second in Europe and fourth across the world in pasta exports…
Stating that Türkiye is the second largest exporter in Europe and the fourth largest exporter in the world in the pasta trade, Ahmet Tiryakioğlu, Chairman of the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TIM) Cereals Pulses Oil Seeds and Products Sector Board, said, “Global volume is approaching 14 billion dollars annually according to Trademap’s 2022 data.”
“The first investments of our Republic, which we are happy to celebrate its 100th anniversary, in the food industry were realised in the field of wheat flour and Türkiye has developed worldwide brands in pasta, which has an important place among the foods made with flour,” he explained, “Our sector, which directly and indirectly employs 50 thousand people, reaches an economic size of 1.5 billion dollars annually both in the country and abroad. Italy, our most important competitor in this field, is having great difficulty in accessing raw materials due to drought problems in Europe this year and is knocking on our door for the wheat flour it needs to continue production. Because we are having a very abundant year in wheat production. While many countries are dealing with war and climate problems, we are starting the second century of our Republic with the pride of being one of the most stable food suppliers in the world.”
“We can export at least 1 million tonnes of pasta per year”
Pointing out that Turkish industrialists, who produce more than 2 million tonnes of pasta per year and export nearly 1.5 million tonnes, meet the domestic and foreign demand with high quality products, Tiryakioğlu added, “Some of the production capacity of our pasta factories, the number of which is approaching 30, is idle. We have the capacity to export at least 1 million tonnes of pasta per year. Thanks to our high-tech industrial facilities that can produce all types of pasta, we want to enlarge our market by expanding our traditional product range. For this purpose, the number of our products preferred in Western cuisine is increasing.”
“However, we cannot sell as many products as we want to the USA and the EU, the world’s biggest pasta importers. The limit of 20 thousand tonnes in tax-free exports to the EU is challenging us and we believe that if these limitations are overcome, we will sell Turkish pasta even to Italians,” he concluded…