Turkey imposes grain import tariffs of 130%

Turkey will enforce a tariff of 130% on imported wheat and barley from 1 May, including from Ukraine, according to a statement on 25 April in Resmî Gazete, the official gazette of the Republic of Turkey.

The tariffs will be imposed on a selected range of cereals that had previously received tariff-free access.

Turkish tariffs on selected grains were previously dropped from 20% to zero in December 2021.

They have been reintroduced in an attempt to protect domestic producers ahead of the new grain season, according to industry reports.

See also: EU to provide €100m support to farmers and limit Ukrainian imports

The announcement follows moves in some eastern European countries last week to limit imports from Ukraine, after large volumes of Ukrainian wheat flooded domestic markets.

Ukraine

The Ukrainian agricultural ministry released a statement on 25 April outlining that Ukrainian exports are important for the world.

Markiyan Dmytrasevych, deputy minister of agrarian policy and food, said: “We understand that during the past year, the heavy load from the export of Ukrainian agricultural products also affected our western neighbours.

“It is very important for us that farmers in neighbouring countries continue to work in comfortable conditions as much as possible, but we should understand that this situation also had a positive influence on their markets.

The price of grain has become more competitive, more jobs have been created and the amount of taxes paid has increased.”

More than 32m tonnes of cereals and oilseeds were exported through Ukraine’s neighbouring countries between April 2022 and March 2023, according to the ministry.