Turkey will strengthen phytosanitary control of Ukrainian wheat

If quarantine organisms are detected in the grain, it will not be allowed for import, and the Ukrainian exporter will be denied a phytosanitary certificate.

Turkey will introduce stricter phytosanitary requirements for the import of Ukrainian wheat from August 4, 2026. This was reported by the State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection of Ukraine,  citing the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Turkey.

The new requirements are related to the entry into force of the Regulation on Plant Quarantine, which Turkey published on May 6 of this year. The document will replace the previous rules that have been in effect since 2011.

From now on, Ukrainian wheat will be checked for the presence of five quarantine organisms: Tilletia barclayana, Tilletia indica, Tilletia caries, Tilletia controversa and Tilletia laevis (Tilletia foetida). Laboratory tests will be conducted on a “present/absent” basis.

“If the specified organisms are detected in the products during laboratory tests, the import of the corresponding consignment will not be allowed,” the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Turkey noted.

The State Food and Consumer Protection Service added that if these quarantine organisms are detected, the Ukrainian exporter will also be denied a phytosanitary certificate in accordance with Article 46 of the Law of Ukraine “On Plant Quarantine”.

According to the Turkish side, Tilletia barclayana and Tilletia indica belong to quarantine organisms that have not been officially recorded in the country. At the same time, Tilletia caries, Tilletia controversa and Tilletia laevis occur in certain regions of Turkey, but also remain quarantine organisms, the import of which is prohibited.

USM also recently wrote that Ukraine is updating its grain export protection plan.