Ankara, Turkey
July 21, 2015
Source: USDA/FAS GAIN report TR 5037
On July 16, 2015, the Official Gazette published the Biosafety Board Decisions on genetically engineered feed imports. The Board approved 3 corn (MIR604 corn, MON 863 corn, T25 corn) and 2 soybean (MON87701 soybean and MON87701xMON89788 soybean) events and their products for feed use only.
The announcement also included a decision regarding an amendment on ‘The rules of packaging, carrying, conservation and transferring” for the purpose of preventing contamination.
On May 11, 2015, the Turkish Poultry Meat Producers and Breeders Association (Besd-Bir) submitted dossiers to the Biosafety Board to request approval for 38 traits (9 soybean, 15 corn, 4 canola, and 10 cotton) for feed use only. The Biosafety Board is reviewing the applications under the simplified procedure, which is an expedited review process. While the five traits listed above were approved on July 16, the remaining traits are still undergoing risk and socio-economic assessments. The decision marks the first biotech trait approvals since 2011 when the Turkish Biosafety Board approved 16 corn events and 3 soybean events. For more information on the latest applications, please refer to GAIN Report on “Biosafety Board Publishes List of Biotech Applications” dated June 16, 2015.
The decisions may be accessed through this link in Turkish language: http://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/main.aspx?home=http://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2015/07/20150720.htm&main=http://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2015/07/20150720.htm
The Turkish private sector views the trait approvals as a quick but temporary and partial fix to ongoing problems facing Turkish imports of genetically engineered feed items. The approvals should help facilitate the release of shipments that have been detained due to “contamination” with these unapproved events. In the short run, the decision will have a positive effect mostly on South American soybean and meal imports due to the production and shipping season but eventually all origins will benefit. However, the problems with feed imports will not be fully resolved until all of the events are approved.