Aegean Region food exporters in London

Food exporters from the Aegean region, reaching export figures exceeding USD 7 billion, are working to strengthen their sustainability competencies in food exports through the "Sustainable Food Sector Exports UR-GE Project". Leading in sustainability, Aegean Exporters Associations, under the coordination and support of the Ministry of Trade, organized a sectoral trade delegation for the food products sector within the scope of the "Sustainable Food Sector Exports UR-GE Project" in London, the capital of the United Kingdom, on 6-9 November 2023. Numerous products in which Turkey is a global leader in production and exports were introduced to the UK market, ranging from dried fruits and olive oil to fruit and vegetable products and spices. Jak Eskinazi, Coordinator Chairman of the Aegean Exporters Associations, stated: "The United Kingdom is our fourth-largest export market. In 2022, Turkey's exports to the United Kingdom reached USD 12 billion. In the January-October period of 2023, we achieved USD 9.4 billion in exports. 89 percent of these exports are industrial products. Turkey ranks among the United Kingdom's most important suppliers in industrial product categories. Within the scope of the International Competitiveness Development Project (UR-GE) supported by our Ministry of Trade, we aim to bring together exporters operating in the food sector, enabling them to comply with new regulations and standards under the theme of sustainability in international markets, and to strengthen their competitive capacity. Negotiations are continuing within the scope of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between our country and the United Kingdom, which separated from the EU and the Customs Union. We anticipate that our exports will increase further with the updating of the FTA and opening to new areas. We concluded a productive sectoral trade delegation. We desire to see growth in the trade volume between Turkey and the United Kingdom."

Hayrettin Uçak, Deputy Coordinator Chairman of the Aegean Exporters Associations and Chairman of the Aegean Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Exporters Association, made the following comments on the matter:

"Turkey holds a leading position in organic product exports among agricultural products. We increased our agricultural product exports by 12 percent over the past one-year period, bringing it to USD 7.3 billion. We continue our efforts to reach our target of USD 10 billion and to improve our food system. Through the delegation implemented within the scope of the Sustainable Food Sector Exports UR-GE Project, 10 Turkish companies introduced dried fruits, aquatic products, olives, olive oil, vegetable oil, non-wood forest products, and fruit and vegetable products—in which we are leaders in production and exports—to British food importing companies. Turkish food exporters conducted approximately 100 bilateral business meetings with 35 companies from the United Kingdom. Given the ongoing negotiations within the scope of the FTA between the United Kingdom and our country, we have enabled Turkey to gain a significant share in the UK market, which imports an average of 70,000 tons of olive oil annually, mostly from EU countries such as Spain and Italy, by eliminating customs duties on olive oil exports from Turkey to the United Kingdom. We raised these demands during bilateral contacts. We will see positive reflections of these contacts on our export figures in the coming period. We aim to increase our food exports to the United Kingdom to USD 2 billion. We will continue to carry out our role as a bridge between the two countries in the best way through bilateral business meetings."