Turkey: A Country On Its Way
22 December 2008 Turkey has prepared its seven-year road map for harmonization with the European Union. When it becomes an EU state, Turkey will have to follow all EU regulations and directives concerning agrochemicals. For now, according to Dr. Ahmet Kismir, marketing and development manager of Hektas Ticaret, T.A.S., “There are not any obstacles bringing product/services into Turkey.” Still, Kismir states that 75% of agrochemicals used in Turkey are from domestic companies, with large multinationals such as BASF, Dow, Bayer, and Syngenta competing with local suppliers.
With Turkey’s wide range of major crops — from wheat, tomatoes, cotton, grapes, nuts, and citrus fruits — and no genetically modified organisms (GMOs) allowed, a wide variety of pests have made the fields their homes. At this time, the pesticides that are most commonly manufactured in Turkey or imported are for control of the following: Codling moth — deltamethrin, cypermethrin, and lambda-cyhalothrin; grape berry moth — parathion-methyl 360 g/lt (Match), teflubenzuron (Nomolt); Cotton American bollworm — alpha-cypermethrin, cypermethrin 200 g/lt -250 g/lt, lambda-cyhalothrin; hazelnut weevil — carbosulfan 250 g/lt6, carbaryl 5%; sunn pest — zetacypermethrin; corn stalk borer and European corn borer — cypermethrin 250 g/lt, zeta-cypermethrin, cypermethrin 200 g/lt, beta-cyfluthrin; and root knot nematodes of vegetable — fenamiphos 400 g/lt, oxamyl 240 g/lt, dichloropropene 1110 g/lt to 1178.6 g/lt.
Many plant diseases and fungi also attack Turkey’s diverse crops, with the most important herbicides and fungicides as follow: Pear scab and apple scab — captan, copper oxychloride, carbendazim, and myclobutanil; weed control on sunflowers — trifluralin 480 g/lt; weed control on rice — propanil 360 g/lt, azimsulfuron 50%, molinate 720 g/lt, cyhalofop-butyl 200 g/lt (Clincher), bispyribac-sodium 400 g/lt (Nominee); weed control on cereals — 2,4-D 500 g/lt, 2,4-D isooctylester 480 g/lt, chlorsulfuron 75% and 10%, fenoxaprop-P-ethyl 75 g/lt, diclofop-methyl 284 g/lt.
Turkey’s future could be rough over the next seven years as it strives to comply with EU regulations. However, the upcoming year will be much the same as 2006: The elimination of agricultural subsidies — a significant source of income to more than one-third of Turkey’s workforce — will create more unemployment and more debt, according to Jephraim P. Gundzik of the Asia Times, who predicts a gloomy 2007 for Turkey’s economy.
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