Agricultural Production Grew 13.3% in the Second Quarter
· AA Tarım & Ekonomi
Trade Minister Ömer Bolat announced at the Foodist Istanbul Fair that agricultural production grew by 13.3% in the second quarter, becoming the locomotive of overall economic growth.
Foodist Istanbul Fair Opens Its Doors
The International Food and Beverage Fair Foodist Istanbul has opened its doors to visitors with an official ceremony held at the Tüyap Congress and Fair Center. The opening ceremony was attended by Trade Minister Ömer Bolat, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry İbrahim Yumaklı, and Chairman of the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) Mustafa Gültepe. While 561 domestic and 76 foreign participants are present at the fair, more than 70,000 visitors are expected to attend throughout the event. Trade Minister Ömer Bolat also stated that Chinese and Japanese delegations would visit the fair before the summit to be held between September 3-5, saying:
"Our ministry officials have arranged the appointments. This has become a bonus for the Foodist Fair."
Second Quarter Leap in Agricultural Production
Touching upon the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) results, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat detailed the critical contribution of the agriculture sector to overall economic growth. Bolat stated that the Turkish economy grew by 2.3% in the second quarter of the year, and agricultural production, with a 13.3% growth, was the dynamo of this overall growth. Bolat noted that the agriculture and food sector provided a direct net contribution of 0.5 percentage points to the country's overall growth. He also mentioned that according to Turkish Statistical Institute data, the unemployment rate in July was 8.1%, falling below 3 million, and the economic picture remains stable.
Measures Taken Against Input Costs
Emphasizing that the ministry has made rapid interventions in extraordinary market conditions to reduce producers' input costs, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat made comprehensive statements regarding fertilizer and fuel support:
"In these periods, we, as the government, immediately took the necessary measures. We reduced the duties on fertilizer imports to zero and ensured that fertilizers in warehouses were opened for domestic use. With these measures and others, which are very important for agriculture, we have prevented the reflection of significant crises on our markets and our people. Diesel fuel is a very important input. Through the 'Eşel Mobil' system, our government has prevented energy prices from increasing as much as the global turmoil by providing an additional subsidy of 500 billion Turkish Liras under these difficult conditions."
Historic Increase in Agricultural Exports
It was highlighted that Turkey has reached a strong structure with a consistent and net foreign trade surplus in the foreign trade of agricultural, food, and processed food products. Pointing to the increase in agricultural exports and market inspections, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat shared the following:
"Turkey is a country with a foreign trade surplus in the agriculture, food, and processed food sectors. Last year, it was approximately 11 billion dollars, and agricultural exports rose from 3 billion dollars in 2002 to 32.5 billion dollars last year. This is an increase of nearly 10 times. This is the result of Turkey being one of the few self-sufficient countries in agriculture globally. When there are irregular games like wars, natural disasters, or calamities in extraordinary periods, leading to unfair trade or exorbitant prices, we, as the state and ministries, do not hesitate to perform our regulatory, supervisory, and, when necessary, administrative penalty functions. The main goal is for both our producers and consumers to benefit."
Climate Conditions and Production Dynamics
Recalling the negative impacts of meteorological disasters on agricultural production and the challenges in the field during the past season, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat made the following assessment regarding the management of climate events:
"Last year was truly a difficult and arduous year. First, we experienced two of the most severe frost disasters in history in February and April. Then, from June until the end of autumn, we experienced a severe drought disaster."
This year, however, thanks to effective rainfall, the harvest has recovered strongly. Trade Minister Ömer Bolat stated the following regarding agricultural productivity and foreign trade decisions:
"Despite this, we managed to maintain the overall scale of our agricultural production. We managed to meet the needs of our people and even export. This year is a magnificent year for the agriculture and food sector. We received wonderful rainfall, and our agricultural production grew by 13.3% in the second quarter. It has become the dynamo, the locomotive of our growth. 0.5 percentage points of the 2.3% second-quarter growth came directly from the agriculture and food sector. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Ministry of Trade, and our citizens are striving to ensure stable consumption and access to products at reasonable prices. At the same time, we are striving to export our surplus production. Climate conditions are deteriorating, and geopolitical tensions are occurring in the global conjuncture; what are we doing at such times? We have to make foreign trade decisions to prevent imbalances domestically, and we do this in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Ministry of Trade."
New Markets Opened Through Trade Diplomacy
It was announced that the foreign trade diplomacy efforts targeting countries that impose technical barriers on agricultural and food products continue to yield concrete results. Trade Minister Ömer Bolat shared the following details about the newly opened markets and export steps:
"We have achieved significant gains in markets such as Canada, the Philippines, China, and Indonesia for some products. We could not sell poultry products to any of the Gulf countries due to the pandemic. Thanks to trade diplomacy, these restrictions have been removed. Our minister went to China, and a market agreement was reached there regarding poultry products. These are positive developments."
Bolat added that the ministry has provided funding to a total of 48 companies under the Turquality and brand support projects, stating that they continue to enhance the global competitiveness of exporters.
Widely Attended Global Fair Organization
The Foodist Fair, organized in collaboration with Tüyap Fairs Group and ALZ Group, is hosting visitors in 10 separate halls across an area of 120,000 square meters. The organization, supported by the Turkish Food and Beverage Associations Federation (TGDF), the Out-of-Home Consumption Suppliers Association (ETÜDER), and exporter unions, is attended by VIP buyer delegations comprising over 2,000 business people from 60 focus countries. According to Ministry of Trade data, national participation was provided for 56 fairs, individual participation for 200 fairs, and ministry support for 6 domestic fairs. The event, featuring B2B meetings and forums, will continue until Friday, September 4th.