Ankara and Beijing have signed agreements for the export of seafood and almonds from Turkey to China. Minister of Agriculture and Forestry İbrahim Ümaklı met with Sun Meijun, Director General of the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China, in Shanghai. There, the two countries signed 3 important protocols regarding the export of seafood and almonds from our southern neighbor to the Asian country.
„With this cooperation, the quality of Turkey's seafood and agricultural production sector is now opening up to China, one of the largest consumer markets in the world. In addition to valuable species such as salmon, sea bream and sea bass, our high-quality almond production will also find a place in the Chinese market,“ Yumakli wrote on his social network profile "X".
“The signed agreements will not only increase trade volume, but also strengthen mutual recognition and technical cooperation between the two countries in areas such as food safety, health certification and traceability,” he added.
Yumakli said that agricultural products account for 300 billion USD, or 5% of China's foreign trade volume of 6 trillion USD. USD for 2024, while the agricultural trade volume between Turkey and China last year amounted to USD 789 million, which represents only 1.6% of the total trade volume between the two countries.
Turkey is also a leader in the export of hazelnuts, pistachios, raisins, apricots and figs, and the country plans to enter the Chinese cherry market.
The minister mentioned that a report on pests for citrus fruit exports was prepared following a visit by a technical delegation from China to Turkey. "I think a lot of high-quality Turkish agricultural products will reach China," he said.
Sun Meijun, for her part, recalled the meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Chinese President Xi Jinping in August, saying that the two countries should move forward towards development and that strategic cooperation between the two countries has deepened in many areas, including customs issues and agricultural trade.