Türkiye’s agricultural exports reach record $27.1 billion in January-September 2026
Türkiye’s agricultural exports rose 4.4% to a record $27.1 billion in January-September 2026. Fresh fruit and vegetables, aquatic and animal products, and tobacco reached their highest export values for the period.
Agricultural exports set a nine-month record
Türkiye’s agricultural exports increased 4.4% year on year to $27.1 billion in January-September 2026, their highest level recorded for the period, according to data from the Turkish Exporters Assembly reported by Ekotürk. Demand from overseas markets supported the result as the country’s wider export sector also expanded.
Türkiye’s total exports rose 5.2% to $211 billion during the first nine months of the year. Agricultural products represented 12.9% of that total, showing the sector’s substantial role in the country’s foreign sales. The agricultural growth rate was slightly below the increase in overall exports, but three of the industry’s 10 constituent sectors achieved record January-September revenue.
Fresh produce records the fastest growth
Fresh fruit and vegetable exports produced the largest revenue among the three record-setting categories. Sales climbed 42.2% to $3.2 billion, making fresh produce the strongest growth engine in the group. The scale of the increase also placed this segment ahead of aquatic and animal products by export value.
Aquatic products and animal products generated $3.1 billion, an increase of 8%. Tobacco exports rose 15.4% to $929.5 million. Combined, the three categories accounted for more than $7.2 billion in foreign sales. Their differing growth rates indicate that the record was not based on a uniform rise across agricultural products: fresh produce delivered the sharpest expansion, while aquatic and animal products provided a similarly large but more moderately growing revenue base.
Iraq, Russia and the United States lead key markets
The leading destination differed for each record-setting sector. Türkiye exported $842 million of fresh fruit and vegetables to Iraq, making the neighboring market the category’s largest destination. Russia led purchases of aquatic and animal products at $398.1 million, while the United States was the largest tobacco market with exports of $157 million. The distribution demonstrates that Türkiye’s agricultural sales depend on a mixture of nearby regional buyers and more distant markets.
Production and export activity was also concentrated in distinct provincial centers. Mersin led fresh fruit and vegetable exports with $880.2 million, while Muğla recorded $814.6 million in aquatic and animal product shipments. İzmir generated $677.9 million in tobacco exports. These provincial specializations connect local processing, production and logistics networks with separate overseas markets. For exporters and investors, the figures identify where capacity and trade expertise are concentrated; for buyers, they highlight the Turkish supply hubs most closely associated with each product group.
