The recent depreciation of the Turkish lira against the US dollar, increasing by 12% since the start of 2024 and 71% over the year, has had significant implications for the fruit and vegetable industry. This devaluation has temporarily boosted Turkey’s export advantage in apples, excluding the Golden Delicious variety, as well as in lemon and grapefruit exports. Fedir Rybalko notes that the devaluation also stimulates local banana production.
With Iran’s withdrawal from the global apple market, Turkey stands to enhance its exports to India, a competitive market between the two countries. This shift could also bolster Turkey’s competitive position in exporting greenhouse tomatoes to Ukraine.
Turkey’s emphasis on bolstering domestic banana and other fruit and vegetable production is evident. It ranks among the top 8 global exporters in this sector, with exports growing annually by over 5%, equating to approximately US $320 million.
Although Russia remains the largest importer of Turkish fruits and vegetables, its share is decreasing. Conversely, exports to Germany, Iraq, Romania, and several other EU and Middle Eastern countries are on the rise.
Notably, Türkiye has significantly reduced banana imports over the past three years, with import volumes declining by more than fourfold.
Source: east-fruit.com