Turkey has allocated import tariff quotas for sunflower seeds (SFS) and sunflower oil (SFO) for January-April to local buyers.
Under the quotas, 1mn t of SFS and 400,000t of SFO are allowed to be imported at reduced import duties from 1 January-30 April. SFS within the allocated volume will benefit from 0pc import duty, while duties outside of the allocated quota are set at 12pc.
For SFO, the allocated quota import duty is set at 20pc and at 36pc outside of the allocated quota.
In August, Turkey introduced tariff quotas on SFS and SFO to allow local buyers of domestic products to benefit from lower import duties, while supporting Turkish farmers during harvest at the start of the 2024-25 marketing year (September-August). In November, the country reduced SFS duties further.
Turkey is one of the world's largest importers of SFS and SFO, with the seeds used to meet the needs of the country's domestic crushing and refining industry. SFO is the most-consumed oil product in Turkey, with the country's local SFS production covering only about two-thirds of demand.
Turkish SFS imports are projected to reach 450,000t this marketing season, up from 310,000t estimated for 2023-24. SFO imports are forecast at 1.25mn t in 2024-25, down from 1.49mn t in 2023-24, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
