Record Number of International Visitors at HOSTECH by TUSİD
HOSTECH by TUSİD, Turkey’s largest and Europe’s second-largest trade fair in the industrial kitchen equipment sector, brought together the top wholesalers and buyers from Turkey and around the world in Istanbul. The fair set a new record with 6,600 international visitors. Bekir Topuz, Chairman of the Board of the Industrial Kitchen, Laundry, Service, and Catering Equipment Manufacturers and Businesspeople Association (TUSİD), emphasized that significant deals were made at the event and that the benefits of these agreements will be seen in the upcoming period, especially with an expected increase in exports in the second half of the year.
“Export Growth to Resume in the Second Half”
The fair was held at full capacity this year across a 45,000-square-meter area, with more than 400 companies participating. TUSİD Chairman Bekir Topuz noted that the level of interest from international visitors exceeded expectations. Highlighting that HOSTECH by TUSİD is growing every year and is the second-largest fair in Europe within its sector, Topuz stated: "We witnessed the signing of important business deals and the establishment of export connections at the fair. We expect to start seeing the fruits of these relationships in the coming months. Especially in the second half of the year, we anticipate a renewed upward trend in exports. HOSTECH by TUSİD will make a significant contribution to achieving our year-end export target of 6 billion dollars."
Export Figures for the First Five Months Announced
TUSİD also released foreign trade figures for the kitchen sector for January-May 2025. Total exports in the first five months decreased by 1.78% compared to the same period last year, reaching 2.28 billion dollars, while imports fell by 3.9% to 1.18 billion dollars. As a result, the sector achieved a foreign trade surplus of 1.1 billion dollars in the first five months. Export unit prices also increased by 4.31% to 4.37 dollars.
During this period, the top 10 export countries accounted for 49.8% of total exports. These countries were the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, the USA, France, Spain, Iraq, Morocco, Egypt, and Romania. The highest relative increases were recorded in the United Kingdom (+9.55%) and Germany (+7.77%).
By product group, the largest exports were in the industrial kitchen category, totaling 947.3 million dollars, followed by small electrical kitchen and household appliances at 479.8 million dollars, and metal kitchen and tableware at 345.4 million dollars.