Turkey limits ports of entry for Japanese imports

Japanese imports can enter Turkey at only 12 ports of entry where the country has radiation safety control systems in place, announced Deputy Prime Minister Hayati Yazici yesterday. These ports are Istanbul Ataturk Airport and Ankara Esenboga Airport as well as Ambarli, Haydarpasa, Izmir, Gebze, Izmit, Derince, DilovasP, Gemlik, Mersin and the Kocaeli Directorate of Petrochemical Products Customs Expertise. Yazici announced the change, imposed to protect against possible nuclear contamination from products imported from Japan, in remarks to the Anatolia news agency. Products shipped before March 11, the day a massive earthquake followed by a tsunami hit northeast Japan, will be exempt from the new safety measures, Yazici also said. The new procedures will remain in force until Turkish and Japanese officials jointly decide there is no longer a threat of radiation poisoning from Japanese products.