Agriculture, Food and Beverage Sector Reaches $10.5 Billion in Exports

Agriculture, Food and Beverage Sector Generated USD 10.5 Billion in Exports in First Half of 2021 Based on Foreign Trade Data announced by Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) and according to the TGDF Digital Data Panel prepared by Agrimetre, the agriculture, food and beverage sector achieved USD 10.5 billion in exports and USD 8.2 billion in imports during the first 6 months of 2021. According to calculations that included all GTIP items between chapters 01 and 24, as well as selected products from chapters 29 and 35, the sector's foreign trade balance in the first 6 months of 2021 increased by 63 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. According to foreign trade data released within the framework of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), in the first half of 2021, exports increased by 18.5 percent compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching USD 10.54 billion, while imports rose by 9.8 percent to USD 8.17 billion. On a monthly basis, in June 2021, exports increased by 33.5 percent compared to the same month of the previous year, reaching USD 1.96 billion, while monthly imports decreased by 2.5 percent to USD 1.2 billion. During the early months of 2021, import growth was trending upward. In April, compared to the same month of the previous year, monthly exports increased by 25 percent and the slowdown in import growth rate showed signs of a trend reversal. While exports increased noticeably in May, the decline in imports in May 2021 compared to the same month of the previous year marked the first time and indicated that the high import trend continuing from the beginning of the year had changed. The positive trend of increasing exports and slowing imports continued to strengthen in June. While these significant monthly increases in exports were noteworthy, the sharp decline in exports during the early period of the previous year when the global impact of the pandemic was felt partially contributed to the higher export figures for May and June compared to the previous year.

Trade Surplus Brought Smiles

The foreign trade balance, negatively affected by the upward trend in imports at the beginning of 2021, had lagged behind the same period of the previous year during the first four months of the year. With the arrival of May data, the trade surplus in 2021 exceeded the same period of the previous year for the first time; in the first 5 months of 2021, compared to the same period of the previous year, it increased by 32.1 percent, reaching USD 1.63 billion. With strong export data in June, the trade surplus in the first 6 months of 2021 increased by 62.9 percent, recording a trade surplus of USD 2.36 billion. Unit export value in the first 6 months of 2021 increased by 1.7 percent compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching USD 1,097 per ton. Import unit value rose to USD 631 per ton with a 39.2 percent increase compared to the same period of the previous year. In the first half of 2021, the leading export products were in-shell hazelnuts (USD 0.59 billion), flour (USD 0.49 billion) and pasta (USD 0.36 billion), together representing approximately 13.7 percent of total exports. During the same period, the most imported products were soybeans (USD 0.86 billion), wheat (USD 0.77 billion) and crude sunflower oil (USD 0.56 billion). These 3 products accounted for approximately 26.8 percent of total imports, more than one-quarter. In June 2021, the most exported products were cherries, wheat flour and refined sunflower oil, while the most imported products were soybeans, wheat and crude sunflower oil. The June import of soybeans, which is largely used by the feed sector, of USD 246.9 million stood out. For this product, imports exceeded USD 500 million in May and June.

The import trend continued for sunflower oil, which has frequently been in the news recently due to domestic price increases and was the third most imported product in 2020 with USD 760 million in imports. Sunflower and sunflower oil remained among the most imported products in 2021.

When foreign trade data for the first 6 months of 2021 are examined by sector, tree nuts (USD 1,112 million), sugar and sugar products (USD 1,066 million), fresh fruits (USD 1,006 million), vegetable oils (USD 732 million) and fishing and aquatic products (USD 621 million) ranked as the sectors with the highest exports. These 5 sectors accounted for 43 percent of total exports. During the same period, animal feed (USD 2,204 billion), vegetable oils (USD 1,578 million), flour (USD 931 million), starch (USD 668 million) and cocoa-chocolate (USD 414 million) ranked as the sectors with the highest imports. These 5 sectors accounted for 70.9 percent of total imports, more than two-thirds. The high proportion indicates that imports are concentrated in a small number of sectors. The animal feed sector alone accounted for more than USD 2.2 billion in volume during the first half of 2021, representing 27 percent of total imports, more than one-quarter. The vegetable oils sector accounted for USD 1,578 million in imports during the first 6 months of 2021, representing 19.3 percent of total imports. The price in global markets nearly doubled during May 2020 – January 2021, and exchange rate volatility resulted in a marked increase and sustainably high domestic prices in this import-dependent sector. During the first 6 months of 2021, compared to the same period of the previous year, the sectors that increased their exports the most in value were sugar and sugar products sector (USD 246 million increase), fishing and aquatic products sector (USD 187 million increase), vegetable oils sector (USD 178 million increase), fresh fruits sector (USD 166 million increase) and vegetables sector (USD 128 million increase). During the same period, the 2 sectors with declining exports were tobacco and tobacco products sector (USD 69 million decrease) and legumes sector (USD 10 million decrease). Pasta, dried fruits/vegetables and flour sectors lagged behind the previous year during the first 4 months of the year. The recovery in exports from these sectors from May onward was noteworthy. During the first 6 months of 2021, the sectors with the largest increases in imports compared to the same month of the previous year were vegetable oils sector (USD 311 million increase), animal feed sector (USD 284 million increase), starch sector (USD 284 million increase), alcoholic beverages sector (USD 24 million increase) and coffee, tea and spices sector (USD 18 million increase). The sectors with the largest import declines were pasta (USD 174 million decrease), flour (USD 130 million decrease), sugar and sugar products (USD 49 million decrease), tobacco and tobacco products (USD 29 million decrease) and tree nuts (USD 25 million decrease). When foreign trade data for the first 6 months of 2021 are examined by country, the top 5 countries to which we exported the most were Iraq (USD 1,180 million), Germany (USD 854 million), Russia (USD 739 million), United States (USD 532 million) and Italy (USD 426 million). Exports to these 5 countries accounted for 35.4 percent of total exports. The main export products to each country were flour, chicken meat, wafers and waffles for Iraq; packaged hazelnuts, in-shell hazelnuts and cherries for Germany; and trout, peaches and mandarins for Russia. When examining import data by country, during the first 6 months of 2021, the countries from which we imported the most were Russia (USD 1,766 million), Brazil (USD 924 million), Ukraine (USD 430 million), United States (USD 406 million) and Malaysia (USD 380 million). Imports from these 5 countries accounted for 47.8 percent of total imports. The prominent products imported from Russia were wheat, crude sunflower oil and corn; from Brazil, soybeans, coffee and tobacco; from Ukraine, corn, soybeans and wheat. Source