According to experts of Oil World, in the first month of this year, Turkey purchased 61 thousand tons of sunflower oil abroad.

The volume of January procurement is 56% higher than last year's January figure, when only 39 thousand tons of sunflower oil were purchased abroad.

And just for the period from October 2018 to January 2019 of the marketing year, Turkey purchased 181 thousand tons of product with a total annual increase in imports of 1.6%.

A significant depreciation of the national currency last year provoked a reduction in foreign purchases of oilseeds and meal in the current season.

Nevertheless, in February this year, the government introduced duty-free quotas for imports of sunflower seeds in an amount not exceeding 300 thousand tons. This was done in order to stimulate the demand of importers for the purchase of oilseeds. Experts predict that the introduction of duty-free quotas will result in an increase in oilseed imports over the coming months, and by the end of the 2018-2019 marketing year, Turkey will import about 0.8 million tons of oilseed as a whole.

Analysts expect that Romania and Moldova will be the most powerful suppliers of sunflower seeds to Turkey starting from the second half of this season, while Argentina and Russia will supply smaller quantities of the product.