Turkey Ministry of Agriculture spends 13.1 billion lira on consumer protection

The Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry spent approximately 13.1 billion lira in the first half of the year on consumer protection activities. These expenditures focused on ensuring food and feed reliability, as well as plant and animal health and welfare.

Within the consumer protection program, roughly 7.44 billion lira was allocated to plant and animal health, while approximately 5.64 billion lira was dedicated to food reliability activities. Other major expenditures included 120.7 billion lira for agriculture, covering animal, plant, and aquatic production, as well as agricultural research and development.

Discussions regarding food safety in Turkey highlight a tension between risk communication and export interests. While the Ministry manages risk assessment, management, and communication under a single roof, critics suggest that the centralized communication structure may prioritize protecting the state narrative and export reputation over transparent public information regarding risks like aflatoxins and pesticides.