Turkey: 'Harmful organism' alarm in grain aisle

MELTEM GÜNEŞ Ankara - Due to the Russia-Ukraine war, in order to ensure food supply security in Turkey and to avoid problems in accessing food products, with the President's Decision on March 3, the official certificate that must be submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture in the import or transit trade of agricultural products loaded from Ukraine and documents were not sought in official controls until they began to be reissued by the Ukrainian authorities. However, recently, a fake certificate and a warning letter regarding the harmful organism were sent to the Ministry of Agriculture by the State Food Safety Service of Ukraine. In the letter, it was reported that the Ukrainian Phytosanitary Certificate presented to Turkey for the shipments of some products was claimed to be fake, while some shipments with harmful organisms (Tilletia spp.) departed from Ukraine without a certificate. Document requirement While the Ministry of Agriculture also informed the Ministry of Commerce on ...