The European potato breeding and seed potato production and marketing sector is concerned over ongoing and growing trade disruptions between the European Union and Turkey. In recent months, more than 5,500 tonnes of seed potatoes exported from EU Member States and the United Kingdom to Turkey have been rejected by Turkish authorities. With that, the volume of these rejections meanwhile account for approximately 20% of the total EU seed potato exports to Turkey. All rejections are based on the detection of pests at point of import that were not identified during the thorough, standard pre-export testing at EU/UK level, which all confirmed that these consignments were pest-free and compliant with international phytosanitary standards.
This situation causes growing, significant financial losses for exporters, disrupts well-established trade flows, and creates significant logistical challenges for the entire value chain. Most importantly, it discredits confidence in the quality and proper alignment of the EU’s and Turkey’s respective phytosanitary certification systems.
The sector calls upon the EU and Turkish authorities to urgently address this issue through a constructive dialogue between the relevant authorities, with the objective to re-establish mutually agreed, science-based, and reliable phytosanitary practices, supporting the unrestricted movement of commercial seed potatoes as a base for agricultural production and the stability of cooperation.
