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Iraq bans import of Turkish tomatoes
Iraq has banned the import of Turkish tomatoes to protect its own producers, as reported by the Turkish Ministry of Economy in a statement.
Tomato growers in Turkey have already suffered from an import ban introduced by Russia. It is the only economic sanction that remains in force. Moscow has lifted all other restrictions introduced after the army took out a Russian military aircraft involved in operations in Syria.
Iraqi authorities expect local producers, especially in the provinces of Nafah and Kerbala, to be able to meet the demand for the product.
If we ignore the shipments to the Russian market, the value of tomato exports from Turkey increased from $ 106.5 million in 2015 to $ 239.9 million in 2016, after the sanctions were introduced. This happened because growers redirected their production to alternative markets, such as Iraq (which is considered one of the most important markets), Belarus, Georgia and Saudi Arabia.
However, if we take the Russian share into account, the value of Turkish tomato exports fell from $ 365.3 million in 2015 to $ 239.9 million in 2016. That is, in 2015, Turkey sold tomatoes to Russia worth $ 259 million, and the next year, only $ 87,000.
As far as the statistics for all fruits and vegetables are concerned, in 2015 Turkey sold agricultural products worth $ 1.9 billion, of which 875 million corresponded to Russia. And after the introduction of sanctions, purchases from Russia fell to $ 331 million.
Turkey is the fourth largest exporter of tomatoes in the world. It accounts for 6.9% of the global production.