Turkey: Growth in agriculture posts 3-year high

Agricultural output in Turkey reaches $47.4B in 2020, rising 20% from previous year, says senior official

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Agriculture in Turkey registered 4.8% year-on-year growth in 2020 -- the highest in the last three years, the country's agriculture and forestry minister said Thursday.

The average growth rate of the agricultural sector was 2.8% over the last two decades, Bekir Pakdemirli said in a video he posted on Twitter.

Stressing that the sector continued to develop and grow despite the coronavirus pandemic and drought, Pakdemirli said the country's agricultural output had reached 333.3 billion Turkish liras ($47.4 billion), which was up 20% from a year ago.

"We continue our leadership in agricultural output in Europe," he said.

Turkey's economy grew 1.8% on an annual basis in 2020, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).

The country's agricultural and food product exports also rose 5% to $20.7 billion during the same period, noted Pakdemirli.

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