Miller Magazine Issue 107 / November 2018

66 MILLER / NOVEMBER 2018 INTERVIEW facades of the factory. There are no windows on the fa- cades. It is also the only mill which lighting is not utilized in Turkey. Another important feature is the water treat- ment unit which was installed with German technology. It turns the tap water and well water into alkaline water. As a result, pH value of the water we drink, use and wash wheat with is above 8. You have also investments for Licensed Warehou- sing. Please also elaborate on Ozmen LIDAS. How popular is Licensed Warehousing in Turkey? Licensed Warehousing is an advanced system that protects grains in a healthy way and enables trade and financing by Electronic Warehouse Receipts. The sys- tem for grains from field to fork based on manpower is replaced by most advanced techniques, automation systems and sensors thanks to Licensed Warehouses and has become ready for global competition. Product inventory, one of the biggest problems in our country, will easily be foreseen thanks to Licensed Warehouse. Ozmen Licensed Warehouse (LIDAS), which was put into operation 3 years ago, is a modern plant with 55 thousand tons capacity and 7 personnel are employed in this plant. CAPACITY UTILIZATION RATE WILL INCREASE IN A YEAR According to Turkish Grain Board, there are 640 mills in Turkey. But capacity utilization rates are at around 51 percent on average. What is the producti- on capacity and utilization rate of Ozmen Un? Ozmen Un formerly had a capacity of 350 tons and it was highly dependent on manpower. We closed down the two plants which were in urban areas in order to use their land more efficiently. Our current mill has a daily capacity of 500 tons/day. Our capacity utilization rate is so satisfactory. God willing, we will have pleasant figu- res at the end of the year. What can be done to utilize idle capacity in Turkey? We are not only the leading country in flour exports; but also in flour consumption. Consumption of bakery products in Turkey equals to 150 kgs wheat consumption per capita in a year. Including Syrian guests, wheat con- sumption in Turkey is 13 million tons/year in total. Turkey has a share of 30 % of global flour trade, which is around 12 million tons. This figure corresponds to 5 million tons/year of wheat. Domestic consumption and exports together correspond to 18 million tons/year. So why have we created a capacity for wheat processing 40 million tons as there is no more potential of consumption and exports? Unfortunately, now we are downgrading, and we came from 40 million tons and 712 mills to the level of 32 million tons with 485 mills. Current difficult economic conditions will speed up this retreat and flour industrialists will experience this consolidation with nati- onal economy. We would wish that this process could be managed in a well-planned way. But in one year Turkish economy and millers will enjoy higher capacity utilization rates and gain reestablishment again. What are domestic market share and export share of your company? Our target was fifty fifty for domestic market and exports. But domestic market has been shrunk so we inc- reased the share of exports for a while. Bread and flour prices have been at the top of agen- da recently. This sector was accused with profiteering and stockpiling? What happened in the background? Since the very beginning of this year, domestically pro- duced and exported wheat prices have been significantly increased as well as other inputs such as financing and energy costs. Therefore, it was natural to see their im- pact on prices. I have just answered this question in part indeed. Can you talk about profiteering or stockpiling in an industry when the capacity doubled exports and do- mestic consumption together? Following controversy, export of flour produced from domestic wheat was restricted. As a professio- nal who led TUSAD for 10 years and as chairman of the board of GUSAD, you are one of the most impor- tant actors of the sector. How do you evaluate export limits for flour industry? With the decision about wheat imports first and then the one about flour exports, actually, inward processing regime was re-implemented. If this measure was not ta- ken by the ministry at that time, everyone could have been affected much more negatively. But flour industry was blindsided because the move was so sudden. Turkey is the biggest flour exporter for the last 6 years. Do you think that economic difficulties