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Turkiye > Europe and Eurasia + Turkey

Turkiye’s cotton production in marketing year (MY) 2024/25 is forecast to increase to 865,000 metric tons (MT; 3.97 million bales), since farmers planted cotton on larger area in response to temporary cotton price hikes during the planting season and because of better yields compared to last MY due to better weather conditions.

Maintaining Hungary’s GE-free status remains a government priority. Although the country’s scientific and breeding institutions were supportive of genome editing, the EC’s legislative proposal on NGTs was caught in a political crossfire in October 2023.

Türkiye’s Biosafety Law continues to threaten imports and imposes a heavy financial burden on the country’s agri-food sector. The number of approved of genetically engineered (GE) events remains arbitrarily fixed at 36 and only includes traits in corn and soy for feed use. There are no approvals for food use due to public sensitivities about the technology.

Turkiye’s commercial apple production in MY 2024/25 is forecast to fall to a five-year low because of unusually dry and warmer weather conditions, which growers say is caused by climate change.

Amid economic headwinds, Turkiye's retail food sector continues to grow, fueled by a young population of 85 million and a rising middle class. The sector is predominantly made up of domestic discount chains, and most of the food on store shelves is produced locally.

The Government of Bulgaria (GOB) continues to oppose agricultural biotechnology. Non-governmental anti-biotech organizations, local activists, and Bulgaria’s organics industry actively spread nonscientific disinformation about biotechnology. Meanwhile, Bulgaria’s poultry, dairy, and livestock stakeholders continue to import biotech-derived feed ingredients.

Turkiye’s overall production of grain for marketing year (MY) 2024/25 is forecast to drop year-over-year due to drier-than-normal weather conditions across most of the country.

FAS/Sofia has revised further downward its estimate for Bulgaria’s MY 2024/25 corn crop to 1.7 million metric tons (MMT) based on the latest harvest data and which, if confirmed, will be the smallest crop since 2012. This is due to the severe summer heat and drought.

Although Hungary regained its avian influenza-free status on July 3, 2024, the disease has returned.

Turkiye’s beet sugar production in marketing year (MY) 2024/25 is forecast to decline year-over-year due to dry and hotter-than-normal weather conditions in the country’s beet growing areas.

Sunflowerseed production in marketing year (MY) 2024/25 is forecast to drop to its lowest level in almost a decade due to extremely dry weather conditions in the northeast part of the country, where more than half of the production is concentrated.