To Prevent Domestic Crisis, Turkey Increases Stocks and Restricts Food Exports

The Turkish government has decided to temporarily restrict exports of several food commodities to combat price increases due to speculation, amid Middle East tensions exacerbated by the war between Iran, the United States, and Israel.

The Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture have restricted exports of chicken meat, eggs, chickpeas, and pulses,” according to the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to RIA Novosti on Wednesday (18/3).

Meanwhile, export permits for “beef and goat meat, sunflower oil, oilseeds, green lentils, and red lentils” will currently not be issued.

The measures announced by the Turkish ministries are intended to keep inflation under control, support local producers, and maintain price balance in the domestic market.

According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, TUIK, the annual inflation rate in the country is at 31.53% as of the end of February.

Furthermore, the Turkish government has taken steps to encourage imports by reducing import tariffs. One of them is a zero tariff applied to imports of around one million tonnes of sunflower oil until the end of May 2026.

Then, given the poor harvest results, the import tariff for green lentils has been discounted to 10% – previously 19.3% – until the end of April. The import tariff for lemons has also been reduced from 54% to 10% until the end of July.

The import tariff for oats cereal, originally 130%, has been reduced to 30% until the end of April, provided that the commodity is for the production of muesli, biscuits, and oatmeal.

According to the Ekonomim newspaper, the rise in raw material prices as well as disruptions to production chains and maritime shipping due to tensions in the Middle East have caused production stoppages at several Turkish factories, forcing some to give workers early holidays.

Companies in such a situation include not a few that require plastic, given that the price of raw polymer materials has risen by around 60-80%, while logistics costs have surged by up to 70%.