Turkish Exporters Assembly said that its olive and olive oil product exports to the UAE in 2018 grew from $1,607,260 to $2,870,800 signifying a growth of 79 per cent.

Olive oil represents the country’s fastest growing food exports sector. A majority of the olives produced in Turkey are pressed for oil, with only one-fourth of the production reserved for table olives.

Over the last three decades, olive oil production in Turkey, especially in Izmir, has grown immensely. The estimated volume of olive oil production for the year of 2016-2017 reached 177,000 tons and is projected to increase to 287,000 tons for the year of 2017-2018.In 2017, Turkey’s olive oil exports reached 53,627 tons, which represents an export value of $207,881,000.

Turkey is the second largest olive cultivator in the world and is also among the top five countries in olive oil production. Turkey aims to increase the export category to $3.8 billion by 2023. To achieve this, it aims to produce 1.2 million tons of olives and 650 thousand tons of olive oil.

Mehmet Buyukeksi, chairman of TIM said: “Turkey has continuously proven itself to be an excellent source of quality olive oil. With our ideal cultivation conditions and technological advancements in the production and processing sectors, we are proud to be one of the world’s top suppliers of olive oil. We will continue to focus on this in the years ahead, making Turkish olive oil exports the healthiest and most cost-effective in the world.”

Turkish olive oil is characterized by its diversity, as well as by the rich heritage and genetic origin of olive trees in the country. With nearly 90 different types of olive trees, Turkish olive growers and olive oil producers are able to offer a wide range of products and can adapt their offerings to a large variety of consumer preferences. – TradeArabia News Service