Importing agricultural inputs from China to Türkiye: the route from first quote to customs release

Short answer: Importing agri inputs from China to Türkiye runs through eight stages. You choose a manufacturer, compare quotes, sign a contract, follow production, check the goods, load, ship and clear customs. Turkish rules apply long before the port. The product decides which permit you need, and some files must be ready before the ship arrives.

This guide is for a first order of fertilizers, pesticides, farm machines, greenhouse materials or packaging from China. For each stage it gives what to do, what to check and the evidence to ask for. It also names the Turkish text behind each rule, so you can take it to your customs broker.

The common problem is order. Buyers often settle price first and the Turkish permit last. A fertilizer container can then reach the port before the conformity letter exists, and customs will not register the declaration. If you would rather not run the China side alone, a China sourcing agent can follow the order to the shipping documents.

What you need before you start

• A product specification: grade, analysis or model, quantity and packing.
• Your company's import position for the product in Türkiye: licence, ruhsat holder or TAREKS registration.
• A customs broker (gümrük müşaviri) who knows the product, and a forwarder if you buy FOB.
• Turkish label text and document needs, ready to attach to the contract.

The eight stages, from first quote to customs release

1. Choose the manufacturer, and check who may import the product

Do: shortlist two or three manufacturers that make the product themselves. Ask for the business license, the product range and the export history to Türkiye.

Check: who may import this product in Türkiye. For chemical fertilizers, your company needs a ministry licence and a registration for each product (fertilizer surveillance regulation, Art. 12–13). Both last 5 years and cannot be transferred or sold (Art. 14). Only the ruhsat holder may import a finished pesticide (pesticide import regulation, Art. 6). Spraying equipment needs a ministry ruhsat before import (spraying equipment regulation, Art. 13).

Evidence to ask for: for a fertilizer registration, an analysis report from the exporting country and a label sample (fertilizer regulation, Art. 13). For a pesticide ruhsat file, a manufacturer certificate from the Chinese authority, apostilled or approved by a Turkish consulate, and a 10-year authorization letter (ruhsat regulation, Art. 12).

2. Request quotes and a proforma invoice

Do: send the same specification to each manufacturer. Compare the price basis, the minimum order quantity, the lead time, the packing and the Incoterm.

Check: the tariff code. Your broker sets the 12-digit GTİP, and it decides the additional customs duty (İGV) on Chinese goods. Fertilizers (chapter 31) and pesticides (3808) pay no İGV. Wheeled tractors pay 21% and soil and seeding machinery 10%, in the 2026 tables of İGV decision 3351. This duty comes on top of the base customs duty, so ask your broker for both layers.

Evidence to ask for: a proforma invoice with the product name and grade, quantity, packing, Incoterm, port, validity date and the HS code. The fertilizer conformity-letter file uses the invoice or proforma (fertilizer regulation, Art. 16).

3. Sign the contract and agree the payments

Do: sign a purchase contract with the manufacturer. Attach the specification, tolerances, packing, label text, shipment date and the list of documents the factory must send.

Check: the Turkish wording the factory must print. Fertilizer labels and documents must be in Turkish or carry a Turkish translation (chemical fertilizers regulation, Art. 13). From 20 January 2027, a machine carries the importer's name and contact, with instructions in Turkish (Machinery Safety Regulation, Art. 14). Our guide to the new machinery rules covers the transition.

Evidence to ask for: the signed contract with its annexes, and the label artwork the manufacturer will print. You pay the manufacturer directly. Tie the balance to evidence you can see before loading.

4. Follow production

Do: confirm the production start date. Accept any change to materials, packing or dates only in writing.

Check: the first printed bags and labels against the approved artwork, before filling starts. A fertilizer pack sold in Türkiye needs the registration and licence numbers, a barcode and the approved label. It also carries the warning "Çocuklardan Uzak Tutunuz" (fertilizer regulation, Art. 24). A pesticide must come in a pack size listed in its ruhsat (pesticide import regulation, Art. 8).

Evidence to ask for: dated photos of printed bags or labels, and a production update with the quantity finished.

5. Check the goods before you pay the balance

Do: have samples taken from your lot and tested, and see the packed goods before loading.

Check: the documents Türkiye will ask for. The fertilizer conformity-letter file needs an analysis report less than 6 months old (fertilizer regulation, Art. 16). A pesticide needs more than 6 months of shelf life left at import (pesticide import regulation, Art. 8).

Evidence to ask for: the laboratory's report, issued by the laboratory, and dated photos of the packed goods and their storage.

6. Load the container and collect the export documents

Do: book the container if your Incoterm makes it your job. Plan the load with the inside size and payload; our page on shipping container dimensions has the figures.

Check: the document set. Ask for the commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading and certificate of origin. For a machine, the declaration of conformity needs a Turkish translation (Machinery Safety Regulation, Art. 21). Wooden pallets and crates need the ISPM 15 heat-treatment mark.

Evidence to ask for: the container and seal numbers, loading photos, and a draft bill of lading before the original is issued.

7. Ship, and open the Turkish file before arrival

Do: send copies of all documents to your customs broker as soon as the bill of lading is issued.

Check: the file that must exist before the customs declaration. For fertilizers on the communiqué's lists, customs will not register the declaration without the ministry's conformity letter (fertilizer import communiqué 2026/16, Art. 3). The letter comes on paper or through Tek Pencere. Pesticide imports need a pre-notification in January, May or September, each covering the next 4 months (pesticide import regulation, Art. 5). Machines in the TAREKS lists are checked before the declaration. If selected, documents must be uploaded within 20 working days (TAREKS communiqué 2026/32, Art. 6 and 10).

Evidence to ask for: the conformity letter or TAREKS reference number, held by you or your broker before the ship arrives.

8. Clear customs in Türkiye

Do: your broker files the declaration under the 12-digit GTİP, with the conformity letter or TAREKS reference where it applies.

Check: duty and release conditions. Chinese goods pay İGV even when they come through the EU with an A.TR (İGV decision 3351, Art. 2). Pesticides are sampled at the border, and they cannot be sold until the laboratory analysis is complete (pesticide import regulation, Art. 14). After a fertilizer import, a copy of the declaration stamped by customs goes back to the ministry within 15 working days (fertilizer communiqué, Art. 5). Confirm the duty and the release steps for your GTİP with your customs broker.

Evidence to ask for: the broker's duty calculation, showing base duty and İGV as separate lines.

Which Turkish rule applies at each stage

Rules read from the official texts on 21 October 2026. Texts: Resmî Gazete 31506 (2021), 33124 (2025), 25406 (2004), 32489 (2024), 30625 (2018), 33402 (2026) and İGV decision 3351 (tables of 17 July 2026).

Checklist for your first order

• Import permit for the product confirmed: licence, ruhsat holder or ruhsat for spraying equipment.
• 12-digit GTİP agreed with your broker, with base duty and İGV as separate figures.
• Contract signed, with the specification, Turkish label text and the document list attached.
• Printed bags or labels checked against the approved artwork before filling.
• Laboratory report under 6 months old for fertilizers; more than 6 months of shelf life for pesticides.
• Container and seal numbers recorded at loading.
• Conformity letter or TAREKS reference ready before the ship arrives.

What goes wrong

• The letter comes after the ship. A fertilizer container reaches the port before the conformity letter is issued. Customs cannot register the declaration, and the container waits.
• The pack does not match the ruhsat. A pesticide is packed in a size the ruhsat does not list, or arrives with less than 6 months of shelf life. The conformity letter is not issued.
• The EU route is expected to remove the duty. A machine is shipped through the EU with an A.TR to avoid İGV. Chinese origin still pays it.

When to hand the China side to a service

Before: you sign with a factory you have not seen, and you learn about problems when the container opens. After: each stage ends with a dated report or a file you can show your broker. Bridge: Zelenberg's team in China can visit the factory, collect samples, coordinate laboratory testing, and record the goods before and during loading. AgroAgent runs the whole order, from the signed contract to the shipping documents.

Our reports record what our team saw on a date. They are not an inspection certificate, a test result or an approval. Our work ends at the export documents in China; customs clearance in Türkiye stays with you and your customs broker.

Sources and last checked

Turkish rules: the Resmî Gazete texts linked above, read by article on 21 October 2026. İGV rates: Ministry of Trade tables dated 17 July 2026. The base customs duty for China origin is not covered here. This page is information, not legal advice: confirm each rule for your product with your customs broker.