US embassy cable - 03ANKARA6070

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 006070 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
 
STATE FOR EUR/SE, EB/EPD, AND EB/TPP/ABT 
DEPT PLEASE PASS USTR FOR NOVELLI, LERRION 
USDA FOR FAS FOR ITP/MEYER, HANSEN; 
CMP FOR ALL COMMODITY DIVISIONS 
USDOC FOR DEFALCO 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD, EAGR, KPAO, TU, USTR 
SUBJECT: EU to Inspect Turkish Poultry Plants for Export 
 
Sensitive but Unclassified.  Not for Internet Distribution. 
 
 
1.  (SBU) Summary. Five Turkish poultry facilities are being 
inspected by the EU veterinarians for approval to export 
poultry meat to the European Union.  Turkish officials 
estimate that, during the first year, exports for the five 
plants could total up to 10,000 tons.  An additional 4 
plants will be inspected by next March.  Turkish officials 
are hoping that this could eventually lead to additional 
exports to other markets including Russia and the Middle 
East.  While the Turkish exports could compete with U.S. 
poultry in other markets, Turkey's need for U.S. soybeans 
and corn could increase.  It is not clear whether the 
European Union will require Turkey to relax its import 
requirements on EU food products in return for this 
approval.  End Summary. 
 
 
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EU Inspections 
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2.  (SBU) In March, Turkish officials indicated that the EU 
would begin inspection of several poultry facilities for 
approval to export poultry meat to the European Union. 
According to Turkish poultry representatives, EU 
veterinarians are currently in Turkey inspecting 5 
facilities.  An additional 4 facilities applied to the 
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs but have been 
asked to wait until March 2004. 
The 5 facilities now being inspected are some of the largest 
and most modern facilities in Turkey. 
 
 
3.  (SBU) MARA officials have agreed to allocate and assign 
35 veterinarians to the facilities.  The veterinarians who 
will be located on the premises will be responsible for 
overall quality control and record keeping as required by 
the European Union.  Note.  In the past, the Ministry 
refused to allocate any personnel for this duty claiming 
that it needed to reduce personnel.  End note. 
 
 
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One Million Ton Capacity 
----------------------- 
4.  (SBU) Poultry officials estimate that during the first 
year 10,000 tons of poultry meat could be sold to Europe. 
This amount could climb much higher in future years.  Turkey 
produces approximately 680 TMT of poultry meat a year but 
has the capacity to produce 1 million tons. 
 
 
5.  (SBU) Turkish business representatives believe that EU 
approval could raise the image of Turkish poultry products 
and encourage other countries to buy from Turkey. Turkey 
exports some products to both Russia and the Middle East but 
believe they could expand these markets considerably. 
The expanded export market could also serve as a safety 
valve for the Turkish poultry sector.  In the 1990s, poultry 
production increased considerably, which in turn led to 
overproduction, falling prices and many bankruptcies.  A 
larger export market could alleviate this cycle. 
 
 
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Turkey's Economic Advantage 
--------------------------- 
6.   (SBU) Turkish exports to the EU would compete directly 
with Thai, Brazilian and Polish exports of poultry meat. 
Turkey's facilities are very modern and the cost of 
shipments would be much lower than either Brazil or 
Thailand.  For the United States, poultry producers could 
face stiffer competition in Russia and Middle Eastern 
markets particularly given this transportation advantage. 
 
 
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Good News for Corn and Soybeans 
------------------------------- 
7.  (SBU) On the other hand, the Turkey currently cannot 
produce enough feed ingredients (soy and corn) to supply its 
poultry sector.  Turkey has imported approximately 1 million 
tons of corn and a similar quantity of soybeans and meal to 
meet the needs of its feed sector.  The United States 
supplied over half of both Turkey's soy and corn.  As a 
result, production increases could result in much higher 
U.S. sales of both those products to Turkey. 
 
 
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Comment: A Good Start? 
---------------------- 
8.  (SBU) Turkey has been pressing the European Union for 
greater access for its agriculture products. Several of the 
plants currently being inspected had previously received 
good ratings from the Europeans.  It is not clear whether 
the EU will demand similar approvals for exporting EU food 
products to Turkey.  In the past, EU officials have 
expressed their frustration with Turkey in negotiating 
market access. 
 
 
9.  (SBU) The willingness of MARA officials to assign 
veterinarians to the plants is also a good sign.  MARA is 
not known for having a progressive relationship with its 
industry counterparts.  It should be noted that on the day 
the inspections were announced, Turkey also increased its 
duty on corn imports to 70% which will, of course, increase 
the production costs for poultry producers and could in the 
end make them less competitive. 
 
 
Edelman