Turkey’s aquaculture exports top $1 billion
Revenue from farmed fish exported from Turkey to 80 foreign markets exceeded US $1 billion last year, it has been reported.
Turkey’s aquaculture exports were worth $1.02 billion last year, marking a 7% year-on-year rise, Sinan Kiziltan, chairman of the Fisheries and Animal Products Sector Board of the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM), told Anadolu Agency (AA).
Seabass exports made $296m, followed by sea bream at $255m, salmonids at $104m and tuna at $86m, according to a report on the Daily Sabah website.
60% to EU
Kiziltan said 60% of aquaculture exports went to EU countries, and that Turkey had gained significant success in the Netherlands, Italy, Russia, Japan and Greece.
Focus would be placed on increasing exports to the Far East. Turkey had entered the Chinese market last year and predicted rapid growth.
$1.1bn target for 2020
Kiziltan said Turkey would step into the Chinese market with $20m in exports, adding: “When we adapt tuna and Turkish salmon (trout) to China, we will have added this country alongside Japan, which is the single market in this area for now. In general, we aim to export seafood products worth $1.1 billion in 2020.”
Explaining how the sector had not achieved its desired performance in terms of domestic production despite export success, Kiziltan said that while the annual consumption of fisheries was around 22-23 kilograms in EU countries, this figure remained around 5-6 kg in Turkey.
