Miller Magazine Issue: 148 April 2022

Istanbul hosted an important event in the milling sector in March. IDMA Exhibition, one of the world's largest meeting points for milling machinery, grain and pulses processing industry, took place for the ninth time on 10-12 March 2022 at Istanbul Expo Center. The event provided a unique networking platform for all the interested parties. Nearly 500 brands from various countries demonstrated their new technologies, solutions, and ser- vices to visitors. We had the opportunity to listen to the exhibitors at the event. We talked to milling technology suppliers about the state of the industry, the effects of the pandemic and the latest trends in the industry. Many suppliers pointed out that the COVID-19 pandemic once again proved the critical importance of agricultural production, the grain industry and the food processing industry. While the pandemic negatively affected many sectors, tech- nology manufacturers serving the food processing industry said that they increased their sales last year. Furthermore, some stated that they were booked up with full production capacity until the end of 2023 with the orders received. The matter that industry stakeholders were not happy with the most was that commod- ity prices reached an all-time high due to the supply bottlenecks since the beginning of the pandemic and the Ukraine-Russia war. The war increased the risks that started before the pandemic and evolved into greater uncertainties with the break out of the pandemic and spoilt the sector’s appetite for investment. Therefore, we can say that the suppliers are experiencing the shock of the war. Ongoing inflation pressure coupled with increasing geopolitical risks complicates pricing. For example, two suppliers we met at the exhibition told us that they could not quote prices to the customers who came to them to buy ma- chinery due to the extreme volatility in the commodity market. Turkish suppliers also alarm that the impact of rising energy and personnel costs and commodity prices will drive the prices of machinery, which may adversely affect their global competitiveness. While the milling machinery industry continues to expand and gain more importance; food safety, sustainability and digitalization stand out as hot topics for the industry. The suppliers we talked to at the event stated that they accelerated their investments and R&D studies in these areas. Consumers are now more conscious of where the food they eat comes from, and how and under what safety standards it is produced. The flour industry is no exception. There- fore, as food safety standards are getting tighter, suppliers are reviewing their machine designs to meet this demand. Another hot topic is energy saving. Because energy cost is the second biggest item for flour industrialists following raw material cost. Many milling machinery manufacturers we talked to at IDMA said that they are working on energy-efficient machines/systems that will reduce electricity costs at the facilities. Let me give you a piece of good news here. Some of them will release their new systems to the market in the upcoming months. editor Namık Kemal PARLAK millermagazine company/millermagazine millermagazine Parantez Publishing and Congress Ltd. Gökevler Mah. 2312 Sok. No:16/37 Ginza Corner Plaza, Esenyurt / İstanbul - TURKEY T. +90 212 347 31 64 F. +90 212 212 02 04 www.millermagazine.com info@millermagazine.com On Behalf of Parantez Publishing and Congress Ltd., Owner Zübeyde Kavraz Responsible Manager Namık Kemal Parlak Editor-in-Chief Namık Kemal Parlak Editors Mustafa Yağmurlu Cemalettin Kanaş Sales and Marketing Burcu Çetin Ebru Ildan Sevin Art Director and Visual Design Özer Duman Corporate Communications Ahmet Hamdi Annaç Consultancy Board Ali İhsan Özkaşıkçı, Chairman of AUSD Mesut Çakmak, Chairman of GUSAD Erhan Özmen, GUSAD Honorary Chairman Bekir Bağış, Chairman of Çukurova Flour Industrialists Association Hasan Özmermer, Board Member of Özmermer Flour Derviş Toprak Mehmet Şerif Gültay Referee and Scientific Advisory Board Prof. Dr. Mustafa Bayram Prof. Gustavo Sosa Prof. Dr. Hazım Özkaya Prof. Dr. Harun Dıraman Asst. Prof. M. Kürşat Demir Asst. Prof. Halef Dizlek Asst. Prof. Mustafa Erbaş Publication Type Periodic (Monthly) Printing - Baskı İhlas Gazetecilik A.Ş. Merkez Mah. 29 Ekim Cad. No: 11 A 41 Yenibosna-Bahçelievler-İstanbul Tel: 0212 454 30 00 All copyrights belong to Parantez Publishing. © May not be used without permission. Responsibility of the ads belongs to the advertisers. ISSN 2718-031X COPYRIGHT PAGE Where is the milling machinery industry evolving?