Turkish Ministry of Agriculture issued a biotechnology regulation Oct. 26 banning “the import of any biotech product unless it is accompanied by official documentation showing that any biotech event in a shipment has been registered and commercially available in the originating country for a period of three years,” AgriMarketing informs Oct. 30. It goes into effect immediately and also requires all biotech products to be labeled.

The new regulation will shut down almost $1bn worth of U.S. exports to Turkey.

“The U.S. Ambassador to Turkey has been alerted and is working with his counterparts in country, while USDA embassy staff work with local industry. In addition the U.S. Trade Representative's (USTR) office is also having discussions with Turkish representatives at the ongoing World Trade Organization (WTO) meetings in Geneva.

Turkey is an important importer of U.S. soybeans and products. In the 2008/2009 marketing year, the United States exported over 690,000 metric tons of soybeans and over 223,000 metric tons of soybean meal to Turkey with a combined value of over $370 million,” AgriMarketing quotes American Soybean Association news release.