Aegean Region Companies Lead Turkey's Seafood and Animal Products Sector

In the TIM Top 1000 Exporters List, which is described as the champions league of exporters in Turkey, the aquatic products and animal products sector was represented by 24 companies. The Aegean Aquatic Products and Animal Products Exporters Association, represented with 13 companies on the list, made its mark.

The aquatic products and animal products sector was represented by 22 companies on the TIM Top 1000 Exporters List in 2023.

Of the sector's USD 3.8 billion exports in 2024, the 24 companies on the TIM Top 1000 List achieved USD 2 billion 48 million.

The Aegean Aquatic Products and Animal Products Exporters Association (ESÜHMIB), which alone accounts for 45 percent of Turkey's aquatic products and animal products exports, entered the TIM Top 1000 exporters list with 13 companies, reaching a 54 percent representation rate among aquatic products and animal products exporters on the list.

The 13 ESÜHMIB member companies among TIM's top 1000 exporters generated USD 1.5 billion in foreign currency for Turkey in 2024. The top 5 companies in the aquatic products and animal products sector were composed of ESÜHMIB member exporters.

Muğla-based exporters ranked in top three
Kılıç Deniz Ürünleri Üretimi İhracat İthalat ve Ticaret A.Ş., an ESÜHMIB member, achieved exports of USD 342 million 699 thousand in 2024, becoming Turkey's 66th largest exporter overall, while becoming Turkey's export champion in the aquatic products and animal products sector.

Gümüşdoğa Su Ürünleri Üretim İhracat ve İthalat A.Ş., which enjoyed Turkey's championship in the aquatic products and animal products sector in 2023, claimed second place in Turkey in 2024 with an export performance of USD 303 million 363 thousand. The company ranked 79th in Turkey overall.

Noordzee Su Ürünleri İhracatı Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş., ranked 219th in the general ranking, secured third place in Turkey in the aquatic products and animal products sector with an export volume of USD 129 million 759 thousand.

All companies in the top three of the aquatic products and animal products sector operate in the aquatic products sector. Another common characteristic of these three companies is that they are Muğla-based.

Sürsan Su Ürünleri Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. ranked fourth with USD 113 million 888 thousand in exports, and Agromey Gıda ve Yem San. Tic. A.Ş. ranked fifth with USD 100 million 210 thousand in exports. Abalıoğlu Balık ve Gıda Ürünleri A.Ş. ranked ninth in the sector.

Yaşar Dış Ticaret A.Ş., an Izmir-based fixture on the TIM Top 1000 List, ranked 10th in the sector with USD 97.6 million in exports in 2024, of which USD 68 million 344 thousand was from aquatic products and animal products exports. Yaşar Dış Ticaret A.Ş. held 304th place on the overall list.

Abalıoğlu Lezita Gıda Sanayi A.Ş. became Turkey's second in poultry sector
Abalıoğlu Lezita Gıda Sanayi A.Ş., Turkey's 479th largest exporter, generated USD 65 million 209 thousand in foreign currency for Turkey. Abalıoğlu Lezita Gıda Sanayi A.Ş. ranked 12th in the aquatic products and animal products sector overall. Abalıoğlu Lezita Gıda Sanayi A.Ş. brought Turkey's second place joy to the Aegean Region in the poultry meat sector.

İlknak Su Ürünleri Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş., an Aegean Aquatic Products and Animal Products Exporters Association member, was Turkey's 17th largest exporter in the sector, while Özsu Balık Üretim A.Ş. ranked 19th.

Gedik Tavukçuluk ve Tarım Ürünleri Ticaret Sanayi A.Ş. was the second Aegean company from the poultry sector to enter the TIM Top 1000 List, while Kopuzmar Su Ürünleri Sanayi ve Dış Ticaret A.Ş. was another Aegean exporter to enter among TIM's top 1000 in the aquatic products and animal products sector.

One ESÜHMIB member company on the TIM Top 1000 Exporters List preferred not to share its name with the public.

Kızıltan: "We rank in the world's top 10 in production across five subsectors"
Turkey Aquatic Products and Animal Products Sector Board Chair Sinan Kızıltan, emphasizing that the aquatic products and animal products sector in Turkey has shown significant development since 2000 and entered the star sectors of exports, stressed that the sector's development makes itself felt in the TIM Top 1000 List every passing year.

Providing information that the sector targets USD 4.1 billion in exports by the end of 2025, Kızıltan said: "In the aquatic products, poultry, egg, dairy products, and honey subsectors, we have the world's most modern production facilities. In each subsector, we rank among the world's top 10 producing countries. We are making significant investments in R&D. Over the past 10 years, we have shown significant development in Turkish salmon and reached USD 500 million export potential. We set a USD 10 billion export target for 2040 and are moving toward this goal with confident steps. When our exports reach the USD 10 billion level, we want 50 of our companies to be represented on the TIM Top 1000 Exporters List."

Girit: "We meet the world's one-third protein needs"
Aegean Aquatic Products and Animal Products Exporters Association Chair Bedri Girit, stating that the Turkish aquatic products and animal products sector has a product range that meets one-third of the world's protein needs, emphasized their target of contributing USD 1.9 billion to Turkey's aquatic products and animal products exports in 2025 as Aegean exporters.

Sharing that they have risen to a leading position in exports among food sectors in recent years in the Aegean Region, Girit said: "Exporters in the Aegean Region work with the motto 'Our Business is Production, Our Strength is Export.' We participate in food fairs around the world. We work intensively on sectoral trade missions, R&D projects and TURQUALITY Programs. All our efforts are directed at contributing USD 5 billion to the USD 10 billion export target set by the aquatic products and animal products sector for 2040."