"Did we sell drones in exchange for wheat? The ministry responded to those claims."

The Ministry of Trade stated that the claims that Ukraine made payments for the UAVs and armed UAVs purchased from Turkey in wheat are completely false.

130% CUSTOMS DUTY IS APPLIED

A written statement was made by the Ministry regarding the aforementioned claim. In the statement, it was expressed, "The claim that 'Ukraine made payments for the UAVs and armed UAVs purchased from our country in wheat and that Turkish wheat was buried in the ground,' which appeared in some media outlets and was shared on social media accounts in recent days, is completely false." It was pointed out in the statement that a 130% customs duty is currently applied to wheat imports to protect farmers in Turkey, and on the other hand, it was emphasized that the import of wheat under the inward processing regime has been suspended between June 21 and October 15, 2024, considering domestic wheat production.

A DELIBERATE ATTEMPT TO SHADOW EXPORTS IN THE DEFENSE INDUSTRY

The statement highlighted that it is evident from publicly available bilateral foreign trade data that no trade has occurred as claimed between Turkey and Ukraine. It was noted: "The claim that the wheat procured from our producers is buried in the ground has been clearly revealed by the statement made by the Presidency's Communication Directorate's Disinformation Combat Center on September 20. It is clearly seen that the recent association of these claims with the UAV and armed UAV exports to Ukraine by our country is a deliberate attempt to shadow the exports achieved in our defense industry. Such false claims aim to obstruct our country's economy, which is progressing steadily through our harmonized foreign trade and agricultural policies."