Turkey meets 7% of EU's organic agriproduct imports

By Deniz Cicek Palabiyik

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey meets 7% of the European Union's organic agriproducts imports emerging as a leader in the sector.

Turkey exports 235 different organic agricultural products to foreign countries, according to data compiled by Anadolu Agency from the country's Agriculture and Forestry Ministry.

Last year, Turkey was the sixth-largest organic agriproduct supplier for the EU, exporting 211 tons of products.

Despite the pandemic, Turkey managed to produce 1.6 million tons of organic agriproducts last year.

The country's main organic agriproducts are dried figs, dried apricots, dried grape, wheat, olive, hazelnut, walnut, pistachio, pulse, medicinal aromatic plants, cotton, berry fruits, fresh fruit, and raw vegetable.

Turkey also manufactures processed organic products such as juice, frozen fruit-vegetable, and olive oil.

The country has been supporting farmers who produce organic agriproducts since 2005.

Turkey ranks 18th in the world in terms of the size of organic agricultural lands, but seventh in terms of the number of organic agriproduct producers globally and the first in the EU, the ministry data showed.

*Writing by Gokhan Ergocun in Istanbul