MHP's Durgun speaks with scientific data: Pesticide claims are exaggerated in the public eye

During the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) General Assembly, the 2026 Central Government Budget Law Proposal and the 2024 Central Government Final Account Law Proposal regarding the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and its affiliated institutions were being discussed.As the discussions continued, speaking on behalf of the MHP Group,Antalya Deputy Hilmi Durgun, regarding theagricultural sectorand the problemsexperienced, as well as the pesticide claims that havecome to the agenda regardingfresh fruit and vegetable exports, made evaluations.

Agriculture's TPointing out that Turkey's strategic and comparative advantage is, Deputy Durgun noted that in the face of global climate change, drought, and increasing population pressure, the sHe stated that theimportance of sustainable foodsupply isincreasing. Statingthat greenhouse cultivation plays a critical role at this point, Durgun noted that inTurkey, greenhousecultivation approximately50 percentof production is carried outin Antalya, he stated.

TheTurkish farmer is struggling with rising input costs and fallingproduct prices.Stating that they are going through a difficultprocess due to the reasons,Durgun said, "As if delayed collections in the supply chain were not enough, our producers and companiesproviding agricultural inputs are also experiencing major grievances due to bouncedchecks and unpaid promissory notes."

"PESTICIDEPEST ICIDE CLAIMS ARE EXAGGERATED IN THE PUBLIC EYE FINDING A PLACE IN THE PUBLIC EYE"

Stating that claims regarding pesticide residues in fresh fruit and vegetable exports frequently come to the agenda, Durgun said that the perception created in the public regarding this issue does not align with scientific data.

"Pesticide claims are finding an exaggerated place in the public eye," said Durgun, adding that the licensing processes for plant protection products used in Turkey are in line with the European Union and G8 standards. are consistent with those of the countriesand stated that the maximum residue limits (MRL) are exactly the same as European Union legislation.

The deputy noted that different MRL values are appliedaccording to the nutritionaland consumption habitsof the countries to which the exports are made, and that the same products may be considered residue-free in one countrywhile it could be counted as a was accepted in another countrydrew attention to the fact that. Reminding that the European Unionchanges MRL values from time to time, MHP Deputy Durgun noted that these changescausedfeedback in past years, while in later years they wererehestatedthatit is.