Biotech Updates

Report Says Turkey's Biosafety Law Causing Significant Economic Harm to Agri-food Chain

May 4, 2012

A new Economic Impact Assessment of Turkey's Biosafety Law finds that the way in which this law is being implemented has resulted in substantial negative economic impacts for the important Turkish importing, feed and food manufacturing and livestock production sectors.

"There is clear evidence of major economic damage and market disruption having been caused by the way in which Turkey's Biosafety Law is being implemented," said Graham Brookes of UK-based PG Economics Ltd. lead author of the report. "This situation can be expected to get progressively worse, threatening the viability of many Turkish businesses (notably small-and medium-sized enterprises) and risking the export of jobs and investment from the country, unless a timely and science-based Turkish GMO approval system is operated."

Some key findings of the report are:

  • The implementation of the Law has caused considerable trade and market disruption, which to date amounts to over $0.8 billion;
  •  The on-going annual cost (assuming no change to current policy) can reasonably be expected to be between $0.7 billion and $1 billion (and could be higher);
  •  With an expected widening discrepancy between the timing and nature of new GM event approvals in Turkey compared to major cereal and oilseed raw material supplying countries, and the rapidly-increasing ‘pipeline' of new traits and combinations of existing/new ‘stacked' traits being approved for use in global agriculture, the negative impact is likely to get progressively worse.

A version of the report is available at www.pgeconomics.co.uk For additional information, contact Graham Brookes at graham.brookes@btinternet.com.