Miller Magazine Issue: 151 July 2022

94 INTERVIEW MILLER / JULY 2022 to become a sector that produces benefits for the country's economy and investors. As the Turkish Flour Industrialists' Federation, our main goal is to overcome this difficult period of crises and uncer- tainties, both in domestic supply channels and in exports, with the least damage and to create a strong industry union. We are aware of the need to increase our country's wheat production to a self-sufficient level in a sustainable way as soon as possible by working in coordination with our state and related institutions. In this regard, presenting the valu- able ideas of our stakeholders as projects and putting them into practice will be our most important priority and focus. Wheat harvest has started in Turkey. What is your yield expectation? And in particular, could you share production prospects for the Southeast Anatolia region? I think 2022 is a tough test year for Turkish agriculture. Thanks to the rains, I expect that we will get a better yield in the new harvest season compared to the previous drought years. However, I disagree with the Turkish Statistical Insti- tute, which expects a wheat harvest of 19 million tons. Ac- cording to our research, Turkey will produce 17-17.5 million tons of wheat this season. I believe that 1.5-2 million tons of this amount will be low-quality wheat that the flour and pasta industry cannot use. I think we should make our calculations in this direction. In the Southeastern Anatolia Region, there is a shift from wheat production to cotton, especially in Şanlıurfa and Mar- din provinces, which are known as 'granaries'. Considering this, we observe that we will get a lower yield in the South- eastern Anatolia Region than last year. We forecast that the yield in the region, which was 4.5-5 million tons in previous years, will be around 3.5 million tons in this harvest season. What do you think about the decision of the Turkish Grain Board to continue the flour regulation in order to prevent price fluctuations in the flour market? I believe that the decision of the Turkish Grain Board in or- der to prevent price fluctuations in the market and to control bread prices within the scope of efforts to fight inflation is cor- rect. This move relieved the market in uncertainty. In addition to the base price, the decision to give Premium to farmers in the sale of grain products to TMO is the right decision to increase the agricultural production of our country, to protect and develop the producers and to reduce the dependence on foreign countries. The support given by the Ministry of Agriculture to our farmers every year, taking into account the Producer Price Index, always produces positive results. In ad- dition, we are pleased that the Turkish Grain Board carefully monitors the price regulation practice in order not to turn a blind eye to stockists and opportunists in the market. Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers and industry stakeholders? Turkish flour industrialists have taken responsibility in dif- ficult times and successfully overcame global threats and economic shocks many times. I would like to underline that we have full confidence in ourselves and our industry thanks to the knowledge and experience we have. I wish good luck to all our stakeholders, who spend their precious time with us. And thank you for giving us the opportunity to share our messages.