Turkey, with an annual tomato production exceeding 14 million tons, ranks as the world's third-largest producer after China and India. Domestically grown tomatoes are used not only for fresh consumption but also for paste, sauces, and drying. Dried tomatoes, ranking first among value-added products, provide significant foreign exchange income to the Turkish economy.
According to Aegean Exporters' Associations data, Turkey exported a total of 18,301 tons of dried tomatoes to 91 countries in the January-June 2025 period, generating $60,989,000 in revenue.
Largest buyer: US
The most dried tomatoes in the first half were shipped to the US, worth $16,053,000. Italy followed with $8,864,000, and the UK with $5,344,000.
Year-end target $100 million
Abdulvahap Olgun, Chairman of the Board of Torbalı Chamber of Commerce, noted that the district is a pioneer in dried tomato production. "It's used on pizza, in sauces, and pasta in Italy. In the US and Brazil, it's preferred for hamburgers. We achieved exports of around $60 million in the first half of the year. Our year-end target is $100 million," he said.
Work begins at dawn
Kemal Saygıner, a producer and exporter in İzmir, drew attention to the challenging production process. He explained that tomatoes, salted or sulfured according to customer demand, are sun-dried for nearly a week and then cleaned and packaged in processing facilities. Saygıner said, "From 15 kilograms of fresh tomatoes, an average of 1 kilogram of dried tomatoes is obtained. We sort the products by quality and keep them in cold storage for orders."
