Turkish pasta exporters are lobbying to remove the import quota on Turkish pasta in European Union

Turkish pasta industry is one of the most important exporters in its product group with an annual export volume of 1,273 kmt and an export value of 607 million USD. Turkey has exported 170 million USD worth of pasta in the 1st quarter of 2020.

However one of the biggest obstacles remains the import quota on Turkish pasta set in the European Union. The pasta industry in Europe is estimated to be around 3.7 billion USD. and Turkish exporters have only had a trading volume of 20 to 25 million USD in the European Union. Due to the quota restrictions, Turkish exporters are limited to 20 kmt of pasta exports to EU countries annually which usually is used up entirely until the middle of the year. However with the increased demand this year due to the Covid19 outbreak, pasta exporters note that the quotas are almost entirely used at the end of the 4 months.