Browse Data and Analysis

Turkiye’s food and beverage sector depends on domestic and imported ingredients, a large portion of which are sourced from Europe. European ingredients enjoy zero or low import duties under preferential trade agreements, as well as lower freight costs.

In March, the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture & Forestry (MinAF) detected for the first time an SAT-2 strain of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in cattle.

On March 8, 2023, the Turkish government issued a notice in the Official Gazette to lift the remaining restrictions on exporting certain agricultural products, including red meat, tomatoes, some pulses, and sunflower oil.

Turkey’s production of major oilseeds – sunflowerseeds, cottonseeds, and soybeans – in marketing year (MY) 2023/24 is projected to decrease year-over-year because of pre-earthquake market dynamics.

Turkey’s production of wheat, corn, barley and rice in MY 2022/23 are all forecast higher compared to the previous year.

On December 30, 2022, the Turkish Government published a Biosafety Decision to reapprove the import of a genetically engineered (GE) stacked corn event, NK603 X MON 810, for feed. In a separate government action, the single event MON 810 was canceled due to a recent court decision. With these latest changes, the total number of approved GE events remains at 36.

Turkiye is among the world’s leading economies and home to a young, mostly urban population of 85 million people. This dynamic has fueled the country’s rising demand for consumer-oriented agricultural products.

In MY 2022/23, all citrus production in Turkiye is expected to decrease due to freezing weather conditions in March 2022 at the beginning of the blossoming period. Retail prices are expected to increase for MY 2022/23 due to low yields and high farmgate prices as a result of increasing input costs for fertilizers, fuel, disinfestation, packaging and transportation.

Turkiye’s cotton production forecast for marketing year (MY) 2022/23 is revised higher to nearly 1.1 million metric tons (MMT) (4.94 million bales), based on increase in cotton area harvested and ideal weather conditions throughout the growing season.

Turkey published its Biosafety Law and implementing regulations in 2010. This legislation has continued to disrupt trade and Turkey’s domestic agriculture and food sectors. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is the sole authority for biotechnology approvals. The Ministry approved seven genetically engineered soybean and corn events in 2022.

Owing to favorable growing conditions and ongoing investments to improve on-farm yields, Turkey’s production and export of apples, pears, and table grapes is forecast at or near record levels in MY 2022/23. At least 80 percent of the projected production of these deciduous fruits will be consumed in Turkey, mainly as fresh fruit.

Turkey recently announced that the tariff on imported sunflowerseed would increase from zero to 5 percent from October 27 through the end of 2022. This revision coincides with Turkey’s sunflowerseed harvest.