Turkey Targets $50 Billion in Food Exports
· Milliyet Ekonomi
Food industry representatives gathered at the F Istanbul Fair aim to boost agricultural and food exports to new records by increasing collaborations in foreign markets.
International Food Fair Opens Its Doors
F Istanbul International Food Industry Fair, one of Turkey's significant gatherings in food, beverage, packaging, and production technologies, opened its doors for the fifth time across 6 halls and an area of 60,000 square meters. Alaaddin Orhan, Board Member of F Fair Executive Committee, stated in his speech:
"This is not just a fair, but an international commercial matchmaking platform that brings our producers together with users, sellers, and buyers."
In the B2B areas at the heart of the fair, producers and procurement managers held direct commercial negotiations, establishing new export connections.
Record Growth Figures in Agricultural Exports
Deputy Minister of Trade, Mahmut Gürcan, detailed agricultural trade data in his opening speech. Deputy Minister of Trade, Mahmut Gürcan, made the following statement:
"The Turkish agricultural sector has gained momentum in the last 20 years, increasing its exports from $3.7 billion in 2002 to $32.6 billion by the end of 2025, and in the first 7 months of 2026, it increased by 4.1% to $19.1 billion. The foreign trade surplus of $10.8 billion in our agriculture and food sector is proof of the strategic support our sector provides to the country's economy. As the Ministry, we are paving the way for our exporters by working to remove technical barriers in foreign markets; domestically, we maintain market stability through retail law regulations, licensed warehousing, and the Hal Registration System, which ensures traceability from farm to table. I wish for the contributions of F Istanbul, which we support within the scope of domestic fairs, to our country's economy and exports to continue to grow."
Fifty Billion Dollar Target in the Food Sector
Istanbul Chamber of Commerce President Şekib Avdagiç touched upon the future vision of the food sector and shared export targets. Istanbul Chamber of Commerce President Şekib Avdagiç made the following remarks:
"We achieved $28 billion in food and food product exports in 2025. With the support of our Ministry, we aim to reach an export target of $50 billion within the next 3 years. In the coming period, high technologies such as food safety, long shelf life, sustainable packaging, automation, and artificial intelligence will come to the forefront. We are also very pleased with the strong presence of our brotherly country Uzbekistan at the fair."
Avdagiç highlighted the decisive role of technological transformation in food trade.
New Partnership Moves from International Participants
Sherzodkhon Ibragimov, Vice Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, speaking on behalf of Uzbekistan, the guest of honor country, made an assessment:
"We are participating with more than 70 Uzbek companies at the fair. We believe that the fair will not only be a platform for product display but will also lead to concrete agreements, new projects, and long-term collaborations."
Yorqin Malikov, Chairman of the Uzbekistan Exporters Association, made the following statement:
"Many of our participating companies are eager to establish partnerships in Turkey, operate in Free Zones, and invest in Turkey. Our goal is to join forces with Turkish business people and achieve exports to third countries through joint production and cooperation."
Hector Enrique Jaime Calderon, Ambassador of El Salvador, also emphasized bilateral relations, stating:
"Our participation as El Salvador represents much more than product promotion; it is an opportunity to build new bridges between our business communities and Turkish buyers and consumers. We are here with companies from our prominent sectors such as coffee, cocoa, honey, and rice biscuits. We are proud to be here with our entrepreneurs, developing bilateral relations and trade ties between the two countries."
China, Bulgaria, India, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Egypt, Iraq, and Syria also participated in the event.