Miller Magazine Issue: 140 August 2021

68 ARTICLE MILLER / august 2021 Our planet is in the grip of natural disasters. On the one hand, there is a worldwide drought and the conse- quent loss of crops. On the other hand, fire and flood disasters in many parts of the world, mainly in China and Germany, cost the lives of hundreds of people and ani- mals, while devastating cultivated lands and cities. While countries have been struggling with COVID-19 for the last two years, global warming and the natural disasters that come with it, unfortunately, continue to be effective also in Turkey. While one side of the country is getting slammed by drought, the other side is affected by floods. Due to severe drought in many parts of Anato- lia, there has been a substantial fall in yield, especially in wheat and barley production. In the Black Sea Region, while there is loss of life and property due to the flood disaster in provinces such as Rize, Artvin, and Giresun, this disaster caused great de- struction. Floods brought bigger destruction in Europe, especially in Germany, and Belgium, and also in China. These natural disasters that our planet is exposed to are not caused by a single country, but due to climate change, which is the most important problem of the whole world. In this period, when the negative effects of the pandem- ic and drought prevailed, a large organization was host- ed by Mardin, the ancient city of Mesopotamia, after 1.5 years, to note and underline the problems of the industry. The meeting themed "21/22 Harvest Year and After- wards" organized by DUNSAD and GUSAD in Mardin, which got the attention of hundreds of participants who were bored of online meetings after a long break under the shadow of pandemic restrictions, took place with a very keen participation. At the meeting, the risks regard- ing flour export, problems in the domestic market, wheat production, drought and its effects were discussed by producers, experts and sector representatives and solu- tions were sought. Flour industrialists had the opportunity to express their problems before the decision makers thanks to the meeting organized by the major associations of two re- gions, where the drought caused great yield losses. The problems were presented by flour industrialists to Ahmet Güldal, General Manager of Turkish Grain Board (TMO), with a final statement, at the meeting, which was espe- cially closed to the press. Güldal, representing Turkish Grain Board, promised to take steps to relieve the flour industrialists. As a result of my two-day impressions, every busi- ness person we talked to said that the biggest prob- Turkish flour industrialists gathered in the ancient city of Mardin for the first time in almost two years to discuss the problems of the industry. At the meeting, the risks regarding flour export and the problems in the domestic wheat market were discussed by produc- ers, experts and sector representatives. State of the Turkish flour industry