Turkey Launches Alcohol Trade Platform to Combat Illegal Alcohol Trade
Ankara, Turkey – The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, under the leadership of Minister İbrahim Yumaklı, has launched a new service through the e-Government system known as the “Alcohol Trade Platform” (ATİP). This initiative aims to continuously monitor all ethyl alcohol trade and combat unrecorded transactions, providing a significant advantage in the fight against illegal alcohol trade.
Minister Yumaklı announced, “Authorized individuals and legal entities will be able to access ATİP via the e-Government portal and carry out transactions within their legal competencies.”
In addition to ATİP, the ministry has introduced the Electronic Alcohol Tracking System (EATS). The details of the application procedures and principles for EATS were published in the Official Gazette in the notification titled “Determination of Production Amounts of Ethyl Alcohol, Methanol, and Suma, and Storage Movements, Trade Methodology, Data Collection, and Product Transport Procedures.”
Yumaklı emphasized the importance of the system in preventing the loss of lives caused by the production of counterfeit alcoholic beverages and unlawful production. He highlighted the system’s ability to electronically identify production and import quantities of ethyl alcohol, track physical shipments within the country, and monitor the product’s movement in the market supply chain.
“The software and data transfer equipment were entirely developed with our ministry’s resources, aiming to record all legitimate trade without exception and make illegal trade completely visible to facilitate the fight against it,” stated Yumaklı.
To support EATS, advanced flow meters have been installed in facilities operating in this sector across Turkey. These devices measure raw material usage and production quantities in real-time, sending the obtained data simultaneously to the ministry’s data center. This setup allows for real-time monitoring and recording of raw material usage and final alcohol production quantities. The integration with the Trade Ministry’s IT system also ensures that alcohol import data is transferred to EATS.
Minister Yumaklı added, “We have created a virtual ethyl alcohol market where authorized individuals can conduct transactions. All trading activities in this virtual market will be continuously monitored by our ministry, and serious sanctions, including license revocation, will be applied to parties trading alcohol outside of ATİP.”
Furthermore, a declaration requirement has been introduced for the domestic transportation of ethyl alcohol. The Electronic Alcohol Tracking System, developed to track physical shipments, has been integrated with the Transport Electronic Tracking and Control System (U-ETDS) under the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure. This integration allows for the tracking of ethyl alcohol from the loading point to the final destination, aiming to prevent the illegal trade of alcohol that could threaten public health.
Before the system was implemented, consultation and information meetings were held with officials from the General Directorate of Security and the Gendarmerie General Command to discuss the system’s operation. Yumaklı stressed the importance of effective cooperation with law enforcement in tracking ethyl alcohol.
“Our anti-smuggling units can utilize the system we developed to instantly verify the individuals and firms legally authorized to trade ethyl alcohol. We will also closely monitor the purchases made by ethyl alcohol buyers and conduct continuous risk analysis to prevent legal supplies from being used in illegal alcohol and alcoholic beverage trade,” added Yumaklı.
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