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Türkiye and Russia plan to hold talks on fertilizer supplies on Oct. 25 as Ankara works to secure agricultural inputs and prevent global disruptions from affecting crop production, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said Friday.
Speaking to state-run Anadolu Agency after a meeting with Russian Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut in Moscow, Yumakli recalled that Türkiye and Russia had reached an agreement in early September under which Moscow would not impose quotas or restrictions on Türkiye's imports of fertilizer and fertilizer raw materials needed by the country.
"Our whole aim is to ensure that the global situation does not negatively affect crop production in Türkiye," Yumakli added.
Yumakli outlined the problems the two ministers addressed in agricultural and food trade between Türkiye and Russia, with most issues resolved during the meeting, including tomatoes held up at the Russian border.
"There was the issue of tomatoes waiting at the border. An agreement was reached to resolve this issue, and entries have started," Yumakli explained. The two countries also agreed to keep their plant health and quarantine authorities in close contact, enabling import and export problems to be handled without disrupting trade.
The meeting underscored Türkiye and Russia’s intention to deepen agricultural cooperation, while the contacts helped clear up existing trade issues in a short time, the minister emphasized.
Turning to food security, Yumakli pointed out that it had become a national security issue, pushing agricultural diplomacy beyond its traditional scope.
"Agricultural diplomacy has ceased to be the classic diplomacy that we all know and have in our minds. Countries now have food supply security on their agenda as a national security issue. Therefore, we need to do this," Yumakli stressed.
Türkiye initially introduced foreign trade measures concerning fertilizer exports and later worked with the Trade Ministry to make products held in warehouses available to domestic producers.
Yumakli pointed to prolonged regional problems as a factor making trade and the movement of strategic products and agricultural inputs between countries more difficult, while transportation costs rose significantly.
He outlined Türkiye’s efforts to identify potential supply bottlenecks and act months in advance, including by holding talks with different countries and securing agreements and understandings.
"We are taking all our measures months in advance to prevent such a thing from happening. We are holding talks with different countries on supply, reaching agreements and understandings. We will continue to do so," Yumakli stressed.
Russian Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut noted that agricultural trade between the two countries remained highly stable, with Russian exports to Türkiye currently exceeding imports.
"Türkiye and Russia complement each other in agriculture; while we primarily export grains, oilseeds, and processed oil products to Türkiye, we receive mainly fruits and vegetables," Lut said.
Lut described her Turkish counterparts as “reliable partners” and expressed confidence that broader geopolitical issues would not disrupt the mutually beneficial supply chain.
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