Turkish Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Exports to Saudi Arabia Rising as Political Ties Improve

Turkey exported USD 91 million of fresh fruit and vegetables to Saudi Arabia in 2018. However, this value declined to USD 31.8 million in recent years and came to a standstill in 2021. In the first 7 months of 2022, Turkey achieved an export value of only USD 1.1 million to Saudi Arabia in total. However, In August Turkey exported USD 5.33 million to Saudi Arabia, significantly more than the rest of 2022 combined.

Political relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia, which have been positive since the beginning of the year, have entered a normalisation process with mutual visits at the highest level in recent months. The opening of a new era in the relations between the two countries has started to have a positive impact on the export figures of the Turkish fresh fruit and vegetable sector. Saudi Arabia is an important market for the Turkish fresh fruit and vegetable sector and the hope is that trade values will return to 2018 levels.