Small Indian grocery shops and major online fashion retailers are boycotting Turkish products ranging from chocolates, coffee, jams and cosmetics to clothing amid growing anger at Turkiye’s support for Pakistan in a confrontation with India.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan expressed public solidarity with Pakistan after India conducted military strikes in response to an attack in occupied Kashmir. Cross-border fighting continued for four days before a ceasefire was declared.
On Monday, the All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF), which supplies 13 million mom-and-pop grocery stores, said it was launching an “indefinite and total boycott” of all Turkish-origin goods, which would affect chocolates, wafers, jams, biscuits and skincare products.
Indian fashion websites owned by Walmart-backed Flipkart and billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance have removed numerous Turkish apparel brands, according to three sources and a review of their websites.
Flipkart’s fashion website Myntra removed listings of Turkish brands, including Trendyol, known for women’s clothing, street and casual wear brand LC Waikiki and jeans producer Mavi, said one source with direct knowledge.
Myntra removed the brands “in the national interest” without Walmart’s involvement, a second source with direct knowledge said.
Reliance’s fashion website AJIO also removed Turkish brands, including Trendyol, Koton and LC Waikiki, from its app, and many of those listings were shown as out of stock on Monday. A source cited “national sentiments” as a reason.
Flipkart, Reliance Retail and the Turkish brands Trendyol, LC Waikiki, Koton and Mavi did not respond to requests for comment.
India has not ordered companies to boycott Turkiye, and India’s annual $2.7 billion in goods imports from Turkiye are dominated by mineral fuels and precious metals.
But a consumer boycott could still be significant. AICPDF said its ban would affect around 20bn rupees ($234 million) of food products. Apparel imports were worth $81m last year, according to the Trading Economics reference website.
Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, chief minister of Himachal Pradesh, one of India’s biggest apple-growing states, said today he would ask for a ban on apple imports from Turkiye, which were worth around $60m last year.
Moreover, Flipkart last week said it was suspending flight, hotel and holiday package bookings to Turkiye “in solidarity with India’s national interest and sovereignty”.
Indians have been cancelling holidays to Turkiye and New Delhi has cancelled the security clearance of the Turkish-based aviation ground handling firm Celebi.
Reuters reported on Friday that Air India was lobbying Indian officials to disallow rival IndiGo’s leasing tie-up with Turkish Airlines, citing business impact as well as security concerns sparked by Ankara’s support for Pakistan.
US imposes visa bans on Indian travel agents for facilitating illegal migration
Separately, the US State Department said it was imposing visa restrictions on owners and other staff at India-based travel agencies that it says knowingly facilitate illegal migration to the United States.
An unspecified number of unnamed people linked to travel agencies in India were being hit with visa bans under the Immigration and Nationality Act based on information gathered by the US mission to India, department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.
Washington often issues visa bans without publishing the names of those targeted.
“We will continue to take steps to impose visa restrictions against owners, executives, and senior officials of travel agencies to cut off alien smuggling networks,” Bruce said, without detailing how the travel agents had facilitated illegal migration.
The move comes amid President Donald Trump’s broad crackdown on migration to the US and efforts to deport undocumented immigrants in the country.
The US embassy in New Delhi has repeatedly posted on its social media sites, warning Indian nationals visiting the country not to overstay their authorised period of stay, warning they will face deportation and a permanent ban from entering for doing so.