Foreigners take hold of Turkey’s food sector
Amid a series of high-profile foreign takeovers in Turkey’s food industry led by Japanese investors, many are worried that the country is losing its self-sufficiency in food.
ANKARA, Turkey — Once among the world’s seven countries that are self-sufficient in food, Turkey is fast becoming an importer of food as well as agricultural and husbandry products, as foreigners increasingly taking hold of the country’s food industry.
Foreign investors have acquired several deep-rooted Turkish food-producing and exporting companies, including leading brands in meat, dairy, pulse, pasta, bread, soft drinks, convenience food, cooking oil, biscuits and chocolate. The process has contributed to rising food prices, decreasing production and a full-fledged green light to imports.
On July 29, Ankara made a decision allowing duty-free imports until the end of 2018 of about 1 million livestock as well as tons of meat, wheat, barley, corn, pulse and other grains, following a number of similar decisions concerning meat in particular that have failed to bring prices down.
This outlook in the food industry and agriculture has hit the value of Turkish food companies and brands, while foreign buyers, especially Japanese food giants, have begun to acquire Turkish companies one after another.
