Turkey's Union of Agricultural Chambers has announced that its members will begin a boycott of all French products after Paris approved a law criminalising denial of the Armenian genocide. Media reports in Turkey say that the boycott of French agricultural products forms part of the sanctions the government in Ankara is starting to impose on France.

The head of the Agricultural Union, Samsi Bayraktar, said that his group represents 5.4 million Turkish farmers; it has decided on the boycott because the French decision on the Armenian issue disturbed every Turkish citizen.

"The boycott," said Bayraktar, "will deal a blow to cooperation between Turkish and French agronomists at both the economic and social levels." He added that he looks forward to the reaction of French farmers to the Turkish decision.

According to the Turkish Statistics Institute, in 2011, Turkey's exports to France reached $6.9 billion, with imports from France being valued at $8.6 billion.