Miller Magazine Issue: 130 October 2020

66 INTERVIEW MILLER / OCtOber 2020 You acquired Pınar Flour years ago. How did this brand affect your business? We went on with our own brand. As a result, it did not affect too much. But its location (being closer to ports) offered some advantages in terms of logistics for raw ma- terial procurement and exports. How has the Covid-19 pandemic affected you? As an economist, what is your comment about the cur- rent situation? And what are your expectations? Covid-19 brings uncertainty for all. Not only for the health aspect but also for economic uncertainties because of governments’ current and possible future restrictions. When cafes and restaurants halted their operations in March, flour demand shifted from out-of-home con- sumption to at-home. The increase in demand for flour was higher in some countries and most exporters even used their idle capacity to meet the demand. It seems that the flour market is not affected by the situation for now but in the long run, flour trade may be affected since global markets start to slow sown and export costs (container, insurance, shipping) are expected to increase. In 2019, Turkish flour industrialists’ exports hit the level of 1 billion USD. As a result, they have enough capacity to meet domestic demand. IMF mentions a slight recov- ery in the world economy but they expect 12 trillion USD shrinkage in 2 years. In addition to this, global unem- ployment will bring social consequences. We witnessed a 10% recession in the Turkish economy. The service indus- try was the most affected sector while the finance and banking sectors’ performance was not too bad. What were your experiences during the crisis? Par- ticularly what you felt when you saw empty shelves in supermarkets? Are you ready for a possible new wave? We once again realized the value of food and particu- larly wheat. We also realized that even the tiniest prob- lem can wreck global health and shake the world econ- omy. We also understand the value and necessity of the owner’s equity better. It is crucial to operating with its own equity. Regular production is better than excess pro- duction. The world is going somewhere which is totally new economically and psychologically. We also saw a high demand but we knew that this was something temporary. We are ready. We have taken all the necessary measures and our government does the same. We do not foresee a shortage of bread and flour production in Turkey during the pandemic. Our moth- ers would feed us by baking bread with stone ovens if required. Turkish women always transfer blessings to so- ciety. I think the job specialization culture in the industry will gain ground in Turkey in the coming years and this will allow us to concentrate on value-added production. What do you to ensure food safety and hygiene? We are always sensitive to food safety. Our priority is the health of the people and we have a zero-touch pro- duction approach. We have a fully automated produc-