Turkey pauses sunflower seed purchases ahead of new reference price

Sunflower seed purchases in Turkey have stalled as the market awaits a decision on a new reference price. The current reference price is around $580/t.

Local growers are calling for the reference price to be raised to $800–1,000/t. Such a revision could significantly increase import costs even after the import duty rate is reduced to 12% from October 1.

According to Sunseedman owner Veysel Kaya, a reference price of $800–1,000/t would result in a duty of around $95–120/t. By comparison, an import contract at about $630/t would imply a duty of roughly $75/t.

As a result, a higher reference price could partly offset the benefit of the lower duty rate and make sunflower seed imports into Turkey less attractive economically.

The final level of the new reference price and the timing of its announcement remain unclear. Until a decision is made, buying activity in Turkey’s sunflower seed market is expected to remain limited.

Tags: Turkey, prices, sunseed