Seafood Industry's Exports Reach $1.7 Billion

Aquatic Products and Animal Products Sector exports reached USD 3.5 billion in 2023. The Aquatic Products Sector led with USD 1.7 billion in exports. Turkey Aquatic Products and Animal Products Exporters Associations Sector Board Chairman Sinan Kızıltan made the following comments on the matter: "As the Aquatic Products sector, we are among the leading sectors in achieving our 2023 export targets first. In 2023, our sea bass exports increased by 2% to USD 517 million, our sea bream exports rose by 12% to USD 418 million, while Turkish salmon, an Omega-3 reservoir, increased by 9% to USD 376 million. Our trout exports reached USD 112 million with a 12% increase, our tuna exports reached USD 51 million. We export to 92 countries, and 42% of this goes to EU countries. In 2023, we exported USD 325 million to Russia, USD 188 million to Italy, USD 156 million to the United Kingdom, USD 149 million to the Netherlands, and USD 118 million to Greece. 67% of Turkey's aquatic products exports are carried out by our exporters from the Aegean region. We closed 2023 in the Aegean Region with USD 1.127 billion in aquatic products exports. The aquatic products sector became the only product group among food products within the Aegean Exporters Associations to exceed the USD 1 billion threshold."

Our target is USD 2 billion

Aegean Aquatic Products and Animal Products Exporters Association Board Member and Izmir Aquatic Products Farmers and Producers Association Chairman Ufuk Atakan Demir stated: "Our target for Turkey's overall aquatic products exports is to reach USD 2 billion. Turkey's aquatic products production and exports have made significant progress, especially with the investments made in recent years. Over the last 20-25 years, Turkish entrepreneurs have brought some of the world's most modern and integrated facilities in the aquatic products and animal products sector to our country, which is one of the factors increasing exports. In 2024, we aim to direct our sector's products to an important potential market through various projects planned for Africa, which is among our priority markets. From China to the USA, from Russia to France, from Spain to Singapore, we have promoted our sector abroad through info-stands and tasting events at trade fairs in which we participated around the world. We aim to continue our work with the same performance in Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Venezuela, Panama, Algeria, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. In order to increase our efforts to display Turkish fish in America, the European Union, and China, we plan to combine our forces with unions based in the Aegean, Istanbul, Mediterranean, and Eastern Black Sea regions and launch a Turquality project dedicated solely to aquatic products." he said.