Food and agriculture sector exports reached 23 billion dollars in 2021!
According to the TGDF Digital Data Panel prepared by Agrimetre, based on the Foreign Trade Data announced by the Turkish Statistical Institute, the agriculture, food and beverage industry realized 22.9 billion dollars of exports and 17.2 billion dollars of imports in 2021. According to the calculations that include all GTIP items between chapters 01 to 24 and selected products from chapters 29 and 35, the foreign trade surplus of the sector increased by 17.2% in 2021 compared to the previous year.
According to the foreign trade data published within the framework of the Special Trade System (ÖTS), in 2021, exports increased by 20.9% compared to the previous year and reached 22.94 billion dollars, while imports increased by 22.2% and reached 17.18 billion dollars. The fact that exports reached the level of 23 billion dollars with a significant increase was considered an important success for the sector, and it was noteworthy that imports also increased at a high rate.
Significant increases in monthly exports and imports
On a monthly basis, in December 2021, exports increased by 23.1% compared to the same month of the previous year and reached 2.5 billion dollars, while monthly imports increased by 36% to 2 billion dollars. It was noteworthy that monthly import and export figures were similarly high compared to the previous year.
Looking at the year in general, imports displayed a significant upward trend in the first months of 2021. In April, this trend changed with the deceleration of monthly export and import growth rates, which increased by 25% compared to the same month of the previous year. While exports increased significantly in May, the decline in imports in May for the first time in 2021 compared to the same month of the previous year changed the high import trend that has continued since the beginning of the year. The positive trend of increasing exports and slowing down imports continued in June as well. In the July-December period, however, this trend changed and significant increases were recorded in imports.
Exports, on the other hand, recovered after a slow start to the year and spent the rest of the year with strong increases. In summary, 2021 was recorded as a year in which exports and imports completed with increases of more than 20%.
Foreign trade surplus in 2021 approached 6 billion dollars
The foreign trade balance, which was adversely affected by the upward trend in imports at the beginning of 2021, fell behind the same period of the previous year in the first four months of the year.
With the arrival of May data, foreign trade surplus for the first time in 2021 exceeded the same period of the previous year; In the first 5 months of 2021, it increased by 32.1% compared to the same period of the previous year and amounted to $1.63 billion.
In the whole of 2021, foreign trade surplus increased by 17.2% compared to the previous year and amounted to $5.76 billion.
The unit export value increased by 3.7% in 2021 compared to the previous year and amounted to 1,097 dollars/ton. Import unit value, on the other hand, increased by 28.2% compared to the previous year and reached 606 dollars/ton. The fact that the unit import value remained at a high level throughout 2021 was considered as a negative development.
Products with the highest volume in foreign trade: Hazelnut, Flour and Pasta
The prominent products in exports in 2021 were Hazelnut (1.3 billion dollars), Flour (1.1 billion dollars) and Pasta (0.80 billion dollars), respectively, these products constituted approximately 13.9% of the total exports.
The most imported products in 2021 were Wheat ($2.3 billion), Soybeans ($1.5 billion) and Crude Sunflower Oil ($1.1 billion), respectively. These 3 products accounted for approximately 28.5% of total imports, that is, more than a quarter of it.
The high import figures of wheat, which is the most imported product in 2021, in August (263 million dollars), September (367 million dollars), October (237 million dollars), November (265 million dollars) and December (307 million dollars) attracted attention.
Sunflower oil, which has been on the agenda with price increases for almost 2 years and is the 3rd most imported product in 2020 with 760 million dollars of import, continued in 2021 as well. Sunflower and Sunflower oil were among the most imported products in 2021 as well. Crude Sunflower oil imports amounted to 1.1 billion dollars in 2021.
The high level of imports of Soybean in June ($ 246.9 million), July ($ 150.6 million) and August ($ 158.1 million), which is largely used by the feed industry, drew attention. While imports were not as high as the previous months in September and October, nearly 250 million dollars were imported in November and December. In total, more than 1.5 billion dollars were imported in the year.
While the most exported products in December 2021 were listed as Hazelnut, Mandarin and Flour, the most imported products were Wheat, Raw Sunflower oil and Soybeans.
Top exporting sectors
When foreign trade data for 2021 is analyzed by sectors, Nuts (2,413 million dollars), Sugar and Sugary Products (2.301 million dollars), Fresh Fruits (2.299 million dollars), Vegetable Oil (1.721 million dollars) and Fisheries and Fisheries (1,276 mi)