Turkish Fresh Sea Bream Exports Down 16% YoY in January-October 2022

Turkish exports of fresh sea bream during January-October 2022 totaled 43.4 thousand mt worth $201 million, down 16% YoY in volume and 8% YoY in value.

The smaller decline in value than volume was the result of a higher export average price, which averaged $4.63/kg in Jan-Oct 2022, up 9% compared to the same period the year before.

Source: Tridge and Turkstat

Fresh sea bream export volume through the first 4 months of the year remained subdued compared to the same months in 2021, but higher than the same months in 2020. However, after April, fresh sea bream exports have been lagging both 2021 and 2020 levels. Turkish exports of other seafood products, such as anchovies, also lagged 2021 volumes on the back of lower fishing volumes this year.

A similar decline occurred in frozen sea bream exports, which totaled 6.8 thousand mt in Jan-Oct 2022, down 10% from levels during the same period in 2021.

In terms of export volume and value, Italy remains the largest destination for Turkish fresh sea bream, with an 18% market share on both accounts. Italy is followed by Greece, which increased its volume share to 16% from 13% in the previous Jan-Oct period, and its value share to 15% from the previous 13% as well. The Netherlands surpassed Spain for the third spot, now with 10% market share in both volume and value. Spain is fourth, with 9% of the volume and value.

Of the four major destinations, only exports to Greece managed to grow YoY in volume (+1%), as Italy, Netherlands, and Spain all registered YoY declines (of -16%, -14%, and -14%, respectively). One reason why exports to Greece fared better is that the export price was the lowest of the four, at $4.21/kg, and also the one that experienced the smallest increase YoY (+3%).

Among the twelve major destinations, exports to Lebanon grew 13% YoY, while exports to Romania grew 24% YoY. As in the case of Greece, the average export price to Lebanon was among the smallest ones, at $3.97/kg, increasing 7% YoY. Nonetheless, the average export price to Romania was above the average, at $5.11/kg, which indicates a sharper increase in demand relative to the other destinations.

As of 2021, Turkey was the second largest exporter of fresh sea bream in the world, exporting a third of the world’s total. Only Greece surpassed Turkey, with 36% of the world’s total market share.

According to Turkstat data, the bulk of sea bream production in Turkey comes from aquaculture. Turkey produced 133.5 thousand mt of aquaculture sea bream in 2021, while its fishing volume was 1.9 thousand mt. Aquaculture sea bream production has grown considerably in the past few years, registering 21% YoY growth in 2021. Compared to 2018, production has grown 74%.