Turkey should find alternative agroexport markets over Russia's sanctions: IKV

Öykü Altuntaş / Istanbul, Dec 7 () – Russia’s sanctions over the downing of Russian jet in Syria weaken retail of agricultural products in the export markets and Turkey should canalize on alternative markets, while protecting the existing ones, urged the Economic Development Foundation (IKV).

The tension between Turkey and Russia, a crucial market for the country’s foreign trade, involve producers, as well as all the sectors providing supply and service, IKV Expert in Agricultural and Rural Development, Gökhan Kilit told .

“Concentration on certain markets in exportation causes a dependence on developments in that market in question” said Kilit, adding some of the European Union countries depending on the Russian market in agroexports, without assuring a market diversity, have struggled after Russia’s embargo applied in early 2015, against the EU.

Accordingly, with its exportation in agricultural goods and food at around 43-billion-dollars, Russia remains one of the key food exporters in the world and Turkey’s export merge is at 3 percent.

“Inflationist pressure on Russia”

The share of agricultural imports in total imports from the EU and the U.S., having faced the crucial embargo of Russia, reaches around 50 percent.

According to Gökhan Kilit, the Russian market will be put under an “inflationist pressure” if the country does not import food from Turkey, a country with significant production rates.

In this regard, Russia had a loss of 5 billion euros, while agricultural food exports from the EU to Russia has declined by 43 percent, from 11 billion euros to 6.3 billion euros, between Aug. 2014 and July 2015, said Kilit.
 
“EU managed to survive by finding alternative markets”

On the other hand, Gökhan Kilit underlined that the EU appears to have managed to compensate its loss and increased its exportation by finding alternative markets.

“This demonstrates that Turkey can also overcome the negative impacts of Russia’s sanctions over food products, by focusing on alternative markets” said Kilit, calling on for a comprehensive strategy search.

The IKV expert warned that Turkey could struggle while searching for new export markets that could substitute the Russian market in the short run, and this could trigger the decrease in prices.

Thus, Turkey should be “on the safe side” and take measures, urgently, in order to develop new strategies and prevent suffering of producers, who are known to be the most fragile ring of the agricultural food chain.