Turkish Food Exports to Africa: A Practical Guide for Exporters

Published October 30, 2026 · 9 min read

Written by Burak Unal, Director of African Markets

Turkish food exports to Africa have grown from a niche trade into a steady business, and this guide explains what a Turkish producer needs to reach African buyers and what an African importer should check before placing an order. Pasta, wheat flour, yeast, biscuits, confectionery, vegetable oils and soft drinks all travel this route, and the practical questions are much the same whether you ship from Gaziantep, Konya or Izmir.

Over the next sections we cover which products sell, which markets buy them, the food import regulations you meet at the border, whether you need halal certification, and how to price and ship a first order. The figures here come from our own Africa Economic Report, so read them as direction rather than today's exact numbers, and check the current data before you commit a production run. It is written for Turkish food and beverage exporters weighing a first order and for African importers sizing up a new supplier.

In our experience advising both sides of this trade, the deals that fall apart rarely fail on the product itself. They fail on a label that does not meet the destination's rules, or on a shelf life too short for the weeks a shipment spends at sea. Those are the parts worth getting right first.

What Are the Leading Turkish Food Exports to Africa?

Pasta and wheat flour are the leading Turkish food exports to Africa by value, followed by yeast, vegetable oils, confectionery and biscuits. As of 2017, the last year covered by our Africa Economic Report, pasta made up 31.4 percent and wheat flours 22.6 percent of Turkey's roughly 186 million dollars of exports to Angola, which shows how concentrated a single corridor can become in staple foods. Those are 2017 figures, so confirm the current share with a recent source before you plan around them.

The pattern repeats across the continent. In Ghana, pasta was 6.1 percent and wheat flours 4.2 percent of Turkey's 303 million dollars of exports that year, and in Sudan wheat flours alone were 17.6 percent of 395 million dollars, according to the same report.

Turkish food and beverage exporters tend to lead with these staples because they store well, ship in standard cartons and face demand that does not swing with fashion. You can see where food and drink sits among other sectors on our food and beverage sector guide.

Which African Markets Buy the Most Turkish Pasta and Flour?

Angola, Sudan, Ghana and the Democratic Republic of the Congo stand out as the largest buyers of Turkish pasta and flour, each for its own reason. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, pasta was 15.1 percent of Turkey's 27 million dollars of exports in 2017, and in Uganda wheat flours were 9.3 percent and pasta 6.0 percent of a smaller 31 million dollar total, on the 2017 figures in our Africa Economic Report. Yeast is a quieter staple: it was 9.7 percent of Turkey's 99 million dollars of exports to Tanzania that year.

What these markets share is a large population that buys wheat based staples it does not mill or process at home in enough volume. Turkish pasta exports fit that gap, and once a brand is on the shelf it tends to stay there.

For a wider view of where Turkish goods already sell, our guide to the top African markets for Turkish exports ranks the corridors, and you can read the trade detail for one of them on the Angola country profile. Treat Turkish pasta exports as the opening line of a catalogue, not the whole of it, because buyers who trust one product will ask what else you make.

What Food Import Regulations Apply to Turkish Food in Africa?

Food import regulations in Africa are set by each country's own standards body and food safety authority, not by a single continental rule, so you meet a different file in Accra than you do in Nairobi. Most ask for the same core things:

a registered importer of record in the destination country;
a product that is registered or notified with the national standards body;
labelling in the official language, showing the ingredients, the net weight, the production and expiry dates and the country of origin.

The authorities of the importing country decide what clears and what does not. We help you assemble and check the file, but we do not issue any approval.

The practical trap is that food import regulations in Africa often require the label to be correct at the point of manufacture, not corrected later with a sticker, so a print run done before you confirm the rules can be wasted. In our experience the registration step is where first time exporters lose the most time, because it runs on the importer's paperwork and cannot start until the importer is appointed. Our overview of Turkish export regulations for African markets walks through the Turkish side of the same shipment.

Does Turkish Food and Beverage Need Halal Certification?

Halal certification is required for meat, poultry and gelatine based products entering most Muslim majority African markets, and it is widely expected for processed foods and some beverages even where it is not strictly mandatory. A halal certificate is issued by an accredited certification body, not by us and not by the exporter, and buyers in markets such as Sudan, Senegal and northern Nigeria often ask for it before they will quote.

Plan for halal certification early, because it is tied to the production site and the ingredients and cannot be added after the goods are made.

For sweets, biscuits and drinks the question is usually about the gelatine, the enzymes and any alcohol based flavouring rather than the main ingredient. Where halal certification is expected, getting it in place also tends to shorten the buyer's own due diligence, which is one less reason for a first order to stall. If you are not sure which of your lines need it, our sector and product investigation service checks the destination's requirements product by product before you spend on certification.

How Should You Price and Ship Turkish Food Exports to Africa?

Price Turkish food exports to Africa on a landed cost basis, because the buyer compares the delivered price against local and other imported stock, not your factory gate price. Build in sea freight, insurance, the destination's duties and the registration and inspection fees, and quote a shelf life that still leaves the buyer most of its selling window after four to eight weeks in transit. A biscuit with nine months of life that arrives with three left is a return waiting to happen.

Pack for heat and humidity, palletise to the importer's standard, and group compatible products so a mixed container still clears as one consistent file. Turkish beverage exports in glass need particular care on weight and breakage, which changes the freight maths against the same drink in cans or PET.

When a shipment combines several product types, Turkish beverage exports and dry goods in one container, our import and export consulting service helps you structure the documentation so the whole load moves together. The parties agree the commercial terms; we advise on how to get there.

Turkish food exports to Africa reward producers who treat the label, the shelf life and the destination's food import regulations as part of the product rather than as paperwork bolted on at the end. Start with one market and one product line you can supply on time every time, prove the corridor, and widen the range once the first repeat order lands.

Planning to Trade Between Turkey and Africa?

Istanbul Africa Trade Company is a trade consultancy based in Istanbul that has helped businesses in Turkey and across Africa find suppliers, verify partners and build trade routes since 2018. We advise on import and export consulting, sector and product investigation, contract manufacturing, and trade strategy development. To talk through your own plans, call or message us on WhatsApp at +90 532 669 30 50, email contact@istanbulafrica.com, or visit us at Merkez Mahallesi Hasat Sokak No:12a, 34384 Şişli/İstanbul. Contact us for guidance on your next shipment or sourcing decision.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you need a separate licence to export food from Turkey to Africa?

You do not need a single special food export licence, but you do need the standard Turkish export registration plus whatever the importing country requires, which usually means product registration with its national standards body. The exporter and importer assemble that file together. Istanbul Africa Trade Company advises on it but does not issue licences or certificates.

How long does Turkish food take to reach African ports?

Sea freight from Turkish ports to most African ports typically runs four to eight weeks door to door, depending on the route, transhipment and the destination's clearance time. Quote your shelf life with that transit in mind so the goods arrive with most of their selling window intact.

What shelf life do African buyers expect on Turkish food?

Most African buyers expect a product to arrive with the large majority of its shelf life remaining, because it then has to clear customs, reach a warehouse and sell through retail. For products with a nine to twelve month life, that usually means shipping within the first weeks of production, not months later.

Can small Turkish producers export to Africa?

Yes, small Turkish producers export to Africa regularly, often starting with a single container of one product to one market. The limiting factor is consistency of supply and correct labelling rather than size, which is why a focused first order tends to work better than a broad one.

Does Istanbul Africa Trade Company ship or clear food consignments?

No, we are a trade consultancy and do not move cargo, clear customs or issue certificates. We help you research the market, check the regulations, prepare the documentation and verify partners, while the freight forwarder, the customs authority and the certification body each do their own part.

About Istanbul Africa Trade Company

Istanbul Africa Trade Company is a trade consultancy based in Sisli, Istanbul, founded in 2018. We work with importers, exporters, manufacturers and distributors in Turkey and across 20 African markets, with market leaders on the ground in Ghana, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Our services cover import and export consulting, sector and product investigation, contract manufacturing, and trade strategy development. You can browse our African country profiles and sector guides on our site, or reach our advisors at contact@istanbulafrica.com and +90 532 669 30 50.

Istanbul Africa Trade Company provides trade consulting services only. We are not a freight forwarder, a customs broker, a shipping line, a bank, a law firm, a government agency or a certification body. We do not move cargo, clear goods, finance trade, or issue permits, licences or certificates. Tariff, customs, certification and regulatory decisions belong to the authorities of the countries involved. This article is general information, current as of the time it was written. Rules, tariffs and costs change, so confirm the details for your own case with the relevant authority or with our advisors before you act on them.