Türkiye exported 1.4 million tons of pasta in 2023.
Türkiye’s total pasta export hit 1.4 million tons at the end of 2023. Turkish Food Exporters, the pasta export revenue of which hit 911 Million Dollars last year, gathered together at TİM Foreign Trade Complex on World Pasta Day in October 25th in order to share the attention that the sector drew on the international scale with the public.
During the activity, which Ahmet Tiryakioğlu, the Chairman of TİM Cereals, Pulses, Oil Seeds, and Products Sector Board, and Kazım Taycı, the Chairman of Istanbul Cereals, Pulses, Oil Seeds and Products Exporters' Association, hosted, Chef Yunus Emre Akkor gave insight into the pasta making techniques through the workshop he organized.
“We are one of the most consistent food suppliers of the world”
Stating that Türkiye is Europe’s 2nd and the world’s 4th major exporter in the pasta trade, the global volume of which reached almost to 14 billion dollars per year according to the 2022 data of Trademap, Ahmet Tiryakioğlu, the Chairman of TİM Cereals, Pulses, Oil Seeds and Products Sector Board, adds to his words during his speech at the activity:
“Our sector, which employs 50,000 people directly and indirectly, reaches to an economic size of about 1.5 billion dollars per year both nationally and internationally. Italy, our most important competitor in this field, suffers extreme hardship in accessing the raw material this year due to the drought problems in Europe and knocks on our door for wheat flour, which it needs to be able to maintain the production. This is because we are having a very fertile year in wheat production. Many countries go through the war and climate problems, whereas we are starting the second century of our Republic with the pride of being one of most consistent food suppliers of the world.”
“We are capable of exporting at least 1 million tons more pasta annually”
Stating that our industrialists, who produce more than 2 million tons of pasta per year and export nearly 1.5 million tons of pasta, meet the domestic and international demand with the high-quality products, Tiryakioğlu gave insight into the following:
“A part of the manufacturing capacity of our pasta plants, the number of which has reached almost 30, is in an idle state. We are capable of exporting at least 1 million tons more pasta annually. For this reason, the number of our products preferred in the Western cuisine increases. However, we cannot sell products to USA and EU, the major pasta exporters of the world, as much as we desire yet. We are compelled by the limit of 20,000 tons in tax-free export to EU, and if this limitations are overcome, we believe that we can sell Turkish pasta even to Italians.”
"Our objective is to achieve global leadership in pasta"
Highlighting that the International Pasta Day was established upon the acceptance of the idea proposed by Türkiye at an international association meeting in 1997 in the USA, Kazım Taycı, Chairman of İHBİR, stated:
"The Republic's initial investments in the food industry were made in the flour sector, and Türkiye has developed globally recognized brands in the pasta industry, which holds a significant place among the food products made from flour. Thanks to our high-tech industrial facilities which can produce every kind of pasta, we want to expand our traditional product range and grow our market. We intend to change the perception of Turkish pasta’s cost-effective image. By improving our production standards, strengthening our inspections and by enhancing our quality, R&D, and marketing efforts, we aim to achieve global leadership in both volume and value."
"Türkiye is one of the first options that spring to mind for the countries which want to import pasta. We are a country that is able to process our high-quality wheat at state-of-the-art facilities and export for competitive prices. More than 65 percent of the pasta export of Türkiye , which takes an important place in global food offer, is carried out by the enterprises operating at Southeast region, the homeland of durum wheat."
Celal Kadooğlu
Chairman of Southeast Anatolian Cereals, Pulses, Oil Seeds, and Products Exporters' Association
"We believe that our well-known brands in pasta making have a great potential especially for Europe. In case that the annual pasta quota, which is currently 20,000 tons in the region, is increased to 100,000 tons in the period of three years, we believe that our sector can fulfill this amount easily."
Veysel Memiş
Chairman of Mediterranean Cereals, Pulses, Oil Seeds, and Products Exporters' Association
Our biggest chance about the positive image of Turkish pasta in the world is that our durum wheat has a world-class quality. We believe that we can increase our share of about 6 percent in global trade to some 10 percent if we can find opportunity to penetrate new markets.
Nihat Uysallı
Chairman of Central Anatolian Cereals, Pulses, Oil Seeds, and Products Exporters' Association
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