The Turkish government has introduced a temporary ban on exports sourced from third countries in a bid to stabilise local market conditions and halt further price increases, World Grain quoted from a US Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) report.
Turkey has stopped exports of grains, oilseeds, cooking oil and other agricultural commodities that are being held in bonded warehouses at the country’s ports, according to the FAS report.
The Ministry of Agriculture & Forest had also stopped direct exports of cooking oil, bulk olive oil shipments, margarine, red lentils and dry beans, the report said.
Although the exact volume of the restricted products originally sourced from third countries was unknown, FAS said, it was believed to be sizeable for the government to intervene and stop exports.
Turkish traders use bonded warehouses at major ports to store grain, oilseeds and other agricultural products sourced from third countries, according to the report.
“Traders decide whether to sell these commodities to buyers in Turkey or ship the product to third markets, depending on prices offered in these respective locations,” FAS said.
Food inflation in Turkey was running high and as the country was heavily dependant on grain, oilseeds and sunflower oil from Ukraine and Russia, there was growing concern about disruptions to domestic supply chains due to the conflict in Ukraine, World Grain wrote in the 17 March report.
“The government expects these latest export restrictions, as well as the zeroing out of import duties on certain commodities, will take the edge off rising food inflation,” FAS said.
