Miller Magazine Issue: 112 April 2019

91 INTERVIEW APRIL 2019 quality varies according to climatic conditions, it is increasing every year. In order to minimize the quality loss because of sunn pest’s damage for the 2019 production period, the ministry will car- ry out the necessary monitoring and enable an effective fight against the sunn pest. The quality and efficiency of the product will increase so that the product can be marketed at a higher price. Can you give information about 2019 cereal purchases and prices? TMO guarantees the purchase of the product which was re- gistered to the farmer’s system. TMO established temporary purchasing points where there is no free market and cereal buyers and carried out this purchasing through licensed wa- rehouse which increased the capacity in every year because of the government and the ministry’s support. We will continue our purchases in the same way in order to prevent the manu- facturer’s victimization. Before the harvest period in 2019, we will announce a price that will please producers and we will start buying around the country. A guarantee of purchase by TMO for a product is cru- cial for product sustainability. I hope that we will announce a price that will please producers and will contribute the increase in the production of wheat that is a strategic product for Turkey and the world. VIA PTT, WE SOLD 400 TONS OF CHICKPEA AND GREEN LENTIL IN TWO MONTHS TMO supports the fight against inflation. In pulses, a re- gulated sale has started. A protocol with PTT has been signed for online retail sale. At this point, can you talk about your works and the feedback you receive? How did people react? Yes, in line with the fight against inflation, we started to sell pulses that we bought from the producers 20-40 percent lower than the market price in 2-kilogram packages. Initially, we star- ted to sell the products at 150 points across the country. We started to sell online via e-PTT since January so that consumer can consume pulses at a cheaper price. So far, we sold 211 tons of chickpea and 189 tons of green lentils. In order for people to have access to vegetable and fruit at a cheaper price, the regulated sale has started. At these points, pulses we bought from the producers are being sold to the consumers a price lower than the market price. We are happy about people’s reaction. Since the start of sales, the demand for 600 tons of chickpeas, 500 tons of green lentils and 174 tons of Osmancık rice came in almost 15 days. Meanwhile, as TMO, while our people consume cheaper food, we want to increase the consumption of pulses in our country due to the fact that pulses have an equivalent protein value to the meat. THE CAPACITY OF LICENSED WAREHOUSING REACHED 3.3 MILLION TONS The most important move of TMO is the generalization of licensed warehousing named as “dams of agriculture.” Can you talk about the contribution the licensed warehou- sing will bring and the stage of your works? As we know, the licensed warehousing system spreads the production supply to a year, enables the protection in healt- hy and secure environment with modern warehouses, enab- les more buyers and seller come together because there will be stock exchanges, and makes easier the product trade, and provides credit system which means a financial support for pro- ducers. The licensed warehousing system will be a profitable investment for producers, traders and industrialists, a signifi- cant investment for the agricultural sector and therefore a gre- at gain for our country’s economy. In order to meet the warehousing need and generalize the licensed warehousing system, TMO started rent guaranteed warehouse construction project in 2016 and signed agree- ments to construct warehouse with 2.3 million tons of capacity that meets the licensed warehousing criteria. In addition to the incentives and support of our government, licensed warehouse capacity has increased exponentially since 2016 as a result of the policies and extension activities imple- mented by TMO. In the cereal field, the licensed warehouse capacity reached a total of 3.3 million tons at 85 points. TMO carried out 5 percent of its purchase (222 thousand tons) in 2016, 15 percent of its purchase (334 thousand tons) in 2017, and 47 percent of its purchase (1.3 million tons) in 2018 via licensed warehousing with Electronic Product Note (ELÜS). TMO aimed to carry out all of its purchase through ELÜS and continues the work to generalize the licensed warehousing, to increase the capacity of licensed warehousing, and to carry out ELÜS trade on the international level. Today, 67 licensed warehousing companies carry out their works in 90 points with 3.3 million tons. There are 85 cereals,