From small grocery shops to e-commerce platforms - Indians boycott Turkish chocolates, coffee, wafers

India has been boycotting Turkish products and services ever since Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish president, chose to support Pakistan during the country’s recent standoff with India.Erdogan’s support for Islamabad came post India and Pakistan tensions after Delhi responded to the terror attack in Pahalgam which took 26 lives.Now, a range of Indian entities, including small grocery shops to major e-commerce firms, are turning their backs on Turkish imports.Though the government has not issued an official trade ban, the boycott could impact the Turkish commercial landscape as India imports around $2.7 billion worth of goods annually from Turkey, mostly mineral fuels and precious metals. The AICPDF estimates the retail ban could affect Rs 20 billion (about $234 million) in food product sales. Meanwhile, apparel imports from Turkey totalled $81 million last year, according to Reuters.On Monday, the All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF), which supplies around 13 million neighbourhood shops, announced an “indefinite and total boycott” of Turkish-made goods. The move will impact daily used products like chocolates, coffee, wafers, jams, biscuits and skincare products.Meanwhile, fashion platforms owned by Flipkart and Reliance have also started removing Turkish clothing brands. Flipkart’s fashion arm Myntra has delisted labels like Trendyol, LC Waikiki, and Mavi. A source familiar with the decision said the action was taken “in the national interest” and without any push from Walmart, Flipkart’s US-based parent company.Reliance’s owned fashion site AJIO has followed suit, with Turkish brands either removed or marked as “out of stock,” reflecting “national sentiments.”Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu also called for a halt to Turkish apple imports, which were valued at $60 million in 2024.Travel bookings to the country have also been cancelled as major travel companies like MakeMyTrip, Ixigo, Cleartrip, EaseMyTrip announced halting of services to Turkey. Ixigo halted all bookings to Turkey, Azerbaijan and China while EaseMyTrip also reported 22% more cancellations for Turkey and 30% more for Azerbaijan.Meanwhile, New Delhi also revoked the security clearance of Turkish aviation firm Celebi.