The economy minister of Turkey said that the country has not banned the import of wheat and similar products from Russia, but imports may completely stop as Turkish companies do not like to import from Russia.
Turkish import buyers have put purchases of Russian agricultural products – principally wheat, maize and sunflower oil – on hold, despite Ankara denying that it has effectively banned imports from Moscow, trade and industry sources said on Monday.
Turkey’s Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci repeated the denial, but said the annual $1.83 billion imports could fall to zero.
Last week, import licences issued by the Turkish government did not include Russia in a list of accepted tax-free origins, suggesting that an import tariff of 130 percent could be applied to supplies from Russia.