The Turkish poultry sector, which has the fourth largest share in the world’s poultry market, has faced a risk of losing its biggest market, Iraq, due to additional import taxes. With the new taxes, which began to be enforced in northern Iraq at the beginning of this week, Turkish exporters now have to pay $290 per one ton of exported chicken meat, rather than $35, sources said. The increase in the taxes is too high, they added.
“Turkish producers exported around 227,000 tons of poultry to Iraq in 2014 for around $443 million. Unless the new custom taxes are revoked, we are likely to lose our biggest export market to Brazilian exporters,” said head of Poultry Meat Producers and Breeders Association Sait Koca.
Turkish exporters use the Habur Border Gate to enter the Iraqi market.