The tariff quota for date imports from Palestine to Türkiye has been raised from 3,000 to 5,000 tons, as per a presidential decree published in the Official Gazette on Sunday.
While exports are said to have decreased significantly since Israel launched its military offensive on Gaza last year, Türkiye is trying to maintain shipments of goods to the Palestinians. It also pledged to continue to work with Palestine's economic counterparts to maintain trade despite Israeli restrictions.
Goods coming to Palestine have to pass through Israeli customs and ports, which makes it harder for the tradespeople to secure the undisrupted flow of the products.
Türkiye and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have been staunch vocal supporters of Palestinian statehood, promoting it on international platforms and meetings.
Erdoğan said that during his visits to Spain and Italy on the eve of Eid al-Adha, also known as Qurban Bayram, he brought up the Israeli oppression against Gazans.
During his visits, Erdoğan told his counterparts that "as long as the policies of occupation and massacre continue in Palestine, no place in the world will be safe."
He underlined that the most effective response to Israel's arrogance and disregard for law is the recognition of the Palestinian state.
He also expressed hope that the conscientious stance exhibited by Norway, Ireland and Slovenia would serve as an example for all of Europe.
A free trade agreement between Türkiye and Palestine entered into force in 2005, while some of the top Turkish business associations such as the Foreign Economic Relations Board's (DEIK) Türkiye-Palestine Business Council have been involved since 1994.
The trade volume between the two registered around $900 million in 2022 and has been steadily growing between 2020-2022, according to Reşat Yusuf, director of the Department of Politics and Statistics of the Ministry of Economy in Palestine, earlier this year.
Türkiye stopped all exports and imports to and from Israel this May, citing the "worsening humanitarian tragedy" in the Palestinian territories, after initially introducing curbs on groups of 40 products, becoming one of few countries to impose restrictions on trade with Israel following Oct. 7 last year.
In June, Colombia introduced a ban on exports of coal to Israel, while some countries had decided earlier to withdraw arms sales to Israel in the face of ongoing assault on Gaza Strip.
Over 37,800 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October last year, following Hamas' attack on southern Israel, most of them women and children, and more than 86,800 others injured, according to local health authorities.
