Sourcing Turkish Food Products for the German Market

Germany is not a secondary market for Turkish food exporters — it is the largest one inside the EU, and for several categories the largest one anywhere. German buyers combine geographic proximity, a preferential trade relationship and deep experience importing from Turkey, which makes them demanding on documentation even as they remain the most active counterpart in the market.

Where the demand is concentrated

Hazelnuts are the clearest case: Germany is Turkey's largest hazelnut buyer, sourcing tens of thousands of tonnes worth several hundred million dollars in a single season, feeding a confectionery and bakery industry that treats Turkish origin as the default rather than an alternative. Dried fruit follows a similar pattern — Germany is a leading destination for Turkish dried apricots, figs and sultanas, bought by both industrial packers and retail-facing brands. Table olives complete the trio of established categories where German import volumes from Turkey are among the highest of any destination market.

Beyond these three, a newer signal is worth noting: German imports of natural soap products have grown at roughly 8% a year over the past several seasons. That is a smaller absolute market than hazelnuts, but the growth rate suggests German buyers — private-label brands, spa and amenity distributors, natural-cosmetics retailers — are actively looking for new soap suppliers rather than defending an established list.

The trade framework that makes this straightforward

Turkey and the EU have operated a Customs Union since 1996 covering industrial goods and processed agricultural products, and separate preferential arrangements apply to many raw agricultural goods. In practice this means a well-documented shipment moves into Germany without the duty burden a non-preferential origin would carry. The A.TR movement certificate (or the appropriate agricultural preference certificate) is the document that carries this benefit — a buyer should expect a Turkish supplier to issue it without being asked twice.

What German due diligence actually checks

None of this removes the compliance work. EU food-safety controls apply regardless of trade preference, and German buyers are, if anything, more exacting about paperwork than the regulatory minimum requires. For products with known contaminant risk — aflatoxin in hazelnuts and dried figs, for example — batch-specific testing is not optional in practice even where it is not universally mandated. Turkish dried figs specifically have faced an increased EU control frequency since August 2025 (Regulation 2025/1441), covering aflatoxin and ochratoxin A; hazelnuts have not been under an equivalent special measure since 2021, but the underlying testing discipline a buyer should ask for is the same either way.

A German buyer will typically want: a batch-specific Certificate of Analysis, contaminant test results appropriate to the product, full traceability to origin and harvest, and — where the product will carry a private label — clear agreement on labelling and packaging responsibilities before the first production run.

Working with a single sourcing partner

Because Germany's demand spans several categories — dried fruit, hazelnuts, tea, natural soap, botanical ingredients — a buyer bringing in more than one product line from Turkey can simplify the relationship by working through a single verified partner rather than qualifying a separate supplier for each category. That partner's job is to hold the specification, gather the documentation and manage the shipment as one point of contact, whether the underlying product is grown, processed or packed by different producers.

The German market rewards preparation. Buyers who arrive with a complete document set and a clear specification move faster than the trade relationship alone would suggest; those who cannot will find that proximity and tariff preference count for very little.