Food & Drink

Turkish fish processors adapt as taste for sushi grows

April 11, 2025, 6:58 AM

A sushi production line at Turkey's Kocaman Fisheries. The company exports to 30 countries and will soon be sending its sushi products to the Gulf region

Sushi market shows potential
Tie-up with Japanese producer
Ready-to-eat meals also popular

Turkish seafood processors are expanding their product range to cash in on new tastes, eating habits and markets, adding the Japanese delicacy sushi to their offerings.

Not so long ago sushi was a rarity in Turkey. It featured on the menus of a few Japanese restaurants in tourist areas catering to foreign visitors rather than locals.

However, tastes have changed during the past 10 years. Many Turks – along with a growing international market – have acquired a taste for Japan’s bite-sized portions as well as for ready-to-eat meals.

The latest company to dive into the sushi market is Kocaman Balıkcılık İhracat ve İthalat Ticaret A.S. (Fisheries Export and Import Trade Ltd.), which has formed a partnership with Kyokuyo, a Japanese food processing giant which bought into the Turkish company last year.

Turkish tastes are becoming more international, while strong returns on investment are prompting incentives to expand processing plants, according to Deniz Kocaman, the company’s marketing manager.

“The fact that the sushi market in Turkey has a very high growth potential and a market volume of approximately $35 million is one of the factors in our choice of sushi investment,” Kocaman told AGBI.

Clothing, Glove, Adult — Old Japanese delicacy, new Turkish taste: Sushi is only just beginning to capture the imagination of curious Turkish diners

Food, Meal, Food Presentation — Old Japanese delicacy, new Turkish taste: Sushi is only just beginning to capture the imagination of curious Turkish diners

Kocaman is based in Balıkesir, in Turkey’s northwest, and already exports to 30 countries, mainly in Europe, though Deniz Kocaman says it will expand to include sending its sushi range to the Middle East and in particular to Gulf countries. The sushi that is shipped around the world is pre-packed and refrigerated, then freighted by air in cold storage units.

Kocaman is not the only Turkish fish processing company aiming to develop its market and products.

In 2021 Dardanel, a domestic leader based in the northwestern province of Çanakkale, bought Greek processor Kallimanis, expanding its reach into European markets.

Last December Dardanel announced it was launching a sushi range under its Kallimanis brand name through which it already exports to Europe and the Gulf.

Dardanel’s sushi is processed in a newly constructed 2,200 square metre plant, with an output of 15 million packaged units a year and a projected turnover of €50 million.

In a statement to Turkey’s capital market authority, Dardanel chairman Niyazi Önen said the investment was aimed at increasing the company’s profile in Greece and beyond.

“The global sushi category is growing, and the growth potential is high. This investment will help us capture a larger share of the international market in the sushi category,” Önen said.

Deniz Kocaman said increasing domestic demand for processed fish products, as well as the potential for increased exports, will help the company sustain long-term growth.

“We aim to grow in the domestic market in 2025 and our biggest investment will be in the sushi sector. We achieved a 50 percent turnover growth from 2023 to 2024, and we aim to achieve the same growth trend this year. We plan to achieve this goal especially in ready-to-eat foods,” she said.