Key Takeaways
- Turkey is one of the world’s leading exporters of fruits and vegetables, accounting for around 8.7% of EU imports.
- The affordability-adjusted indoor farming market (SOM) in Turkey is valued at USD 1.73B in 2025.
- Greenhouses dominate, with an estimated USD 1.59B of the market versus USD 0.14B for vertical farming.
- High-tech adoption is growing but remains concentrated in export-oriented and large commercial farms.
- Energy costs, fragmented land ownership, and limited financing for smallholders continue to shape the sector’s evolution.
Turkey’s Role as a Regional Export and Indoor Farming Leader
Turkey is a central pillar of the Middle East and wider regional fresh produce supply chain. The country ranks among the world’s top fruit and vegetable exporters, with 2024–2025 exports exceeding USD 3.4B and supplying nearly 9% of EU fruit and vegetable imports.
This strong export capacity is anchored in a well-established greenhouse infrastructure and favorable agro-climatic conditions. Domestic demand for most staples is largely met by local production, while imports are typically limited to tropical or niche crops that are not suited to Turkey’s climate.
Market Size: Greenhouses Dominate Turkish Indoor Farming
Within the Middle East indoor farming framework, Turkey stands out with an affordability-adjusted indoor farming market (SOM) of USD 1.73B in 2025—by far the largest among the non-GCC countries covered.
Of this, greenhouses account for approximately USD 1.59B, while vertical farming represents about USD 0.14B. The data reflects a market where protected cultivation is mature and scaled, while fully controlled, high-tech vertical systems are still at an early but growing stage.
Drivers of Indoor Farming Adoption in Turkey
Several structural factors support the expansion of indoor and protected agriculture in Turkey:
- A long-standing tradition of greenhouse cultivation focused on export markets.
- Strong logistics and trade routes into Europe, the Middle East, and Russia.
- Increasing use of protected structures to manage weather volatility and improve yields.
Modern CEA technologies such as advanced climate control, fertigation, and digital monitoring are progressively adopted by larger commercial operators, particularly those serving export channels or premium supermarket chains.
Barriers to High-Tech Scale-Up
Despite its strengths, Turkey’s indoor farming sector faces several constraints that limit the rapid expansion of fully high-tech systems:
- Energy costs: Tiered electricity pricing, with higher tariffs above certain usage thresholds, impacts operating margins for energy-intensive facilities.
- Fragmented land ownership, which makes large-scale consolidation and investment more complex.
- Limited financing access for small and mid-sized growers seeking to upgrade from low-tech to high-tech systems.
- Skill gaps in advanced CEA technologies, even though Turkey has a relatively strong agricultural education base.
As a result, most innovation is concentrated in sizeable, export-oriented farms, while smaller producers continue to favor cost-effective, lower-tech structures.
Outlook: Incremental Indoor Farming Modernization In Turkey
Between 2025 and 2030, Turkey’s indoor farming trajectory is expected to follow an incremental modernization path rather than a disruptive shift. The country’s greenhouse-dominated model is likely to remain the backbone of production, while:
- More operators gradually integrate automation and climate control.
- Export-focused farms invest in higher-spec structures to meet quality and consistency requirements.
- Select vertical farming and hydroponic projects expand around urban centers and premium retail channels.
Turkey’s combination of scale, export connectivity, and growing technology adoption positions it as a key market in the region’s indoor farming landscape.
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