EHBYİB Quadruples Exports Over Last 4 Years

EHBYİB Quadrupled Exports in Last Four Years Aegean Cereals, Pulses, Oilseeds and Products Exporters Association (EHBYİB) quadrupled its exports over the last four years, surpassing the USD 1 billion threshold. Aegean cereals, pulses and oilseeds exporters set an export target of USD 1.1 billion for 2023. Speaking at the Aegean Cereals, Pulses, Oilseeds and Products Exporters Association General Assembly meeting held at Aegean Exporters Associations, EHBYİB Board Chairman Muhammet Öztürk stated that during the first year of their term, they conducted intensive work to ensure sustainable growth in their sector's exports and to increase cooperation with exporters and all stakeholders to address the challenges faced.  

2023 export target USD 1.1 billion

  Sharing that the cereals, pulses and oilseeds sector achieved USD 11.4 billion in exports across Turkey in 2022, Öztürk said, "As the Aegean cereals, pulses and oilseeds sector, in 2022 we increased our exports by 47 percent, from USD 682 million to over USD 1 billion. We succeeded in becoming the sixth exporter association under the Aegean Exporters Associations umbrella to surpass the USD 1 billion threshold. We will continue to work with all our might, produce and export to further increase our sector's USD 1 billion export volume in the coming periods. Our target for 2023 is to bring USD 1.1 billion in foreign currency to our country."

Vegetable oil sector accounted for USD 61 of every USD 100 exported

Stating that they have a wide range of products and that each sector makes a significant contribution to exports, Öztürk summarized the sector's export breakdown as follows: "Our vegetable oil exporters generated USD 61 of every USD 100 in exports our association made last year. In our oilcakes and animal feed exports we showed high growth momentum, with a 67 percent increase to USD 123 million, oilseeds exports increased 140 percent to USD 98 million, chocolate and confectionery exports rose 3 percent to USD 48 million, and food preparations increased 25 percent to USD 41 million in exports."

White poppy seed exports to India reopened after years

  Underlining that India is the largest export market for white poppy seed exports and that problems have been experienced in recent years, and that they have worked intensively to resolve these issues, Öztürk said, "Every stage of export requires special care, and we face some challenges. We have been working on white poppy seed exports to India, our traditional export market, since 2016. India, the world's largest buyer of white poppy seed where Turkey is a world leader in production and exports, became the fourth largest country where our association members exported the most with USD 86 million in white poppy seed demand in 2022. In the coming period, we will continue to make efforts to ensure uninterrupted white poppy seed exports."  

UR-GE Project Coming

  Explaining that they have begun work on the Improving International Competitiveness (UR-GE) Project, which is supported by the Ministry of Commerce and helps exporting companies consolidate internationally and strengthen their competitive power while increasing export competencies, President Öztürk invited cereals, pulses and oilseeds exporters to participate in the UR-GE Project.  

TURQUALITY Project Doubled Food Exports to the United States

  Sharing information that they are continuing trade fairs, sectoral trade missions, purchasing missions, UR-GE and TURQUALITY projects to increase food exports together with 6 food exporter associations under the Aegean Exporters Associations umbrella, Öztürk continued his remarks as follows: "With our Turkish Tastes Turquality project, which we carry out with the support of the Ministry of Commerce in the U.S. market and which has entered its second four-year period, we have achieved very successful results. In a four-year period with the food products introduced in our project, our exports to the U.S. increased from USD 700 million to over USD 1.45 billion. In 2022, as the cereals, pulses, oilseeds and products sector, with USD 708 million in exports to the U.S., we achieved approximately half of Turkey's food products exports to the U.S. We aim to increase our sector's exports to the U.S. above USD 1 billion."  

Member relations improvement project launched

Stating that they visited member companies of the Aegean Cereals, Pulses, Oilseeds and Products Exporters Association, listened to the problems faced by firms, and subsequently made initiatives with the Turkish Exporters Assembly and the Ministry of Commerce to resolve issues, Öztürk called on exporting firms to share their problems and solution proposals with the board.