Turkey's fresh fruit and vegetable exports to 118 countries amounted to $622.5 million in the first four months of the year, with Russia taking the lead among markets with $184.2 million in that period.
According to the Eastern Black Sea Exporters' Association (DKİB) data, in January-April 2019, $622.5 million was generated from Turkey's fresh fruit and vegetable exports of 1.1 million tons to 118 countries. In this period, the Russian Federation ranked first with $184.2 million, followed by Iraq with $61.9 million and Romania with $60 million.
Meanwhile, in the said period, 86,288 tons of fresh fruits and vegetables were exported to 36 countries from the Eastern Black Sea, providing $48.8 million in foreign exchange inflow.
In fresh fruit and vegetable exports made from the region, Russia ranked first with $37.4 million, followed by Georgia with $4.7 million and Iraq with $1 million. DKİB Chairman Saffet Kalyoncu said that Russia stood out as the primary market for fresh fruit and vegetable exports. He noted that Russia continually ranks first in fresh fruit and vegetable exports, stressing that Russia's share in these figures has been falling due to the problems experienced in the last three years. He also added that it is possible to see an increase in exports to the Russian Federation in case of a solution to these problems and the lifting of the non-tariff barriers.
Dailysabah.com recalls how In January 2016, after Turkey downed a Russian fighter jet violating its airspace, Russia banned imports of Turkish fruits and vegetables including tomatoes, oranges, apples, apricots, cabbage, broccoli, mandarins, pears, peaches, cucumbers, plums, strawberries, onions, cloves and poultry. However, Russia relaxed trade sanctions placed on Turkey during the summer of 2017. "We want to close 2019 with much better figures in the export of fresh fruits and vegetables," he added. "In this context, we aim to progressively increase our exports to Russia, which is our primary market."