THE GLOBAL WINDOW OF TURKISH FOOD AND AGRICULTURE The Global Window of Turkish Food and Agriculture Sector
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On April 16, 2021, the Government of Turkey (GoT) removed the three percent anti-dumping duty on
U.S. cotton. GoT imposed this duty on U.S. cotton imports in 2016 for five years after the conclusion of
their anti-dumping investigation. Industry sources expect a slight increase in market share for U.S.
cotton in the Turkish market because of the removal of the duty.
Turkey Eliminates the Three Percent Anti-dumping Duty on U.S. Cotton…
The Government of Turkey eliminated the three percent anti-dumping duty on U.S. cotton imports on
April 16, 2021. At the request of domestic cotton producers, the Turkish government initiated an antidumping investigation on October 18, 2014. The investigation resulted in the GoT imposing a three percent anti-dumping duty on U.S. cotton for five years, starting on April 16, 2016. However, some of the U.S. cotton imports came under Turkey’s inward processing regime and were not subject to the antidumping duty. Under the inward processing regime, importers are not required to pay a duty if they ultimately export the materials produced from the imported product.
In marketing year (MY) 2012/13, before the investigation started, the U.S. market share for Turkish
cotton imports was 57 percent, or 456,663 metric tons (MT). The share of U.S. cotton went down to 36
percent in MY 2015/2016, mainly due to uncertainty after the start of the anti-dumping investigation.
However, after the Turkish government finished the investigation and imposed the three percent duty,
U.S. market share increased. U.S. market share dropped to 38 percent in 2019/20 because of increased
competition from Brazil and Greece. The Turkish textile industry believed the three percent duty was
tolerable as they needed the high-quality U.S. cotton for production.
During the five years span of the anti-dumping duty, Brazil and Greece become more active in the
Turkish market. Brazilian cotton became more prevalent in Turkey as its quality improved and the price
was lower than U.S. cotton. During the first half of the MY 2020/21, Brazilian market share overtook
the United States in the Turkish market. Nonetheless, we estimate that U.S. cotton will still be the
market leader by the end of MY 2020/21.
The removal of the three percent anti-dumping duty will lower the costs for the Turkish textile industry,
not only because U.S. cotton will become cheaper but also because Brazilian and Greek cotton traders
will lower their prices to keep their market share. Trade sources indicate that the market share for U.S.
cotton will increase a few percentage points, settling somewhere between 40 to 45 percent in the coming
marketing year.
Source: USDA, Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS)
