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Olives: Turkish oil exports up by more than 150%

April 19, 2023 at 12:55 PM , Der AUDITOR
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ANKARA. Turkey has managed to work its way to the top of the world's producers of table olives. Experts are also pinning high hopes on the export of olive oil, which has already increased significantly in the first months of this year.

Turkey mixes up the top

Turkey managed to exceed its planned targets for the olive and olive oil sector last year. Dr. Mustafa Tan, Chairman of the National Olive and Olive Oil Council (UZZK), announced that Turkey had become the world's largest producer with a production of 735,000 mt of table olives. The 421,000 mt of olive oil were also enough to put Turkey in second place here. However, the aim is to produce 450,000 mt of olive oil this season, as some of the table olives have a higher oil content.

Olives are cultivated in Turkey in about 41 provinces. New seedlings are planted regularly, so production increases from year to year. According to Tan, the demand for olive oil in the world market is great and he believes in Turkey's high potential to contribute here. "Spain exports 735,000 mt of olive oil a year, so exports are higher than their production. Accordingly, the country purchased 115,000 mt of olive oil to cover its domestic consumption. In Italy, the annual consumption is 600,000 mt, but only 200,000-250,000 mt are produced there," Tan said.

Exports increase massively

According to the Turkish Exporters' Assembly TIM, Turkey exported olives and olive oil worth USD 294.75 million in the first three months of this year, which is an increase of around 157% compared to the same period last year. Spain became the most important buyer with 104.11 million USD and an increase of 1,424%, followed by the USA (+156% to 80.63 million USD), Germany (+1.1% to 12.65 million USD) and Italy (+1.505% to 12.29 million USD).

Olive and olive oil exports, Turkey, in million USD

Destination

2022

2023

Diff.

Spain

6.83

104.11

1,424.3%

USA

31.47

80.63

156.2%

Germany

12.51

12.65

1.1%

Italy

0.77

12.29

1,505.5%

Romania

9.17

8.84

-3.6%

Others

54.09

76.23

40.9%

Total

114.84

294.75

156.7%

TIM / Jan-Mar

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