Miller Magazine Issue: 154 October 2022

84 MILLER / OCTOBER 2022 INTERVIEW Will your proximity to raw materials, ports and retail mar- kets at the same time provide you with a price advantage? Of course, it will provide a price advantage. But at the same time, we believe that we will achieve this through our know- how and experience in the final product. For Panpan, we are starting with the most used products classically. After that, we are going to combine various flours and mixes under the name of Panpan. DORUK FLOUR UNDERTAKES 13% OF TURKISH FLOUR EXPORTS Could you also give information about your export markets? 60% of our production is for export. We carry out custom- ized production with 7 different brands in export. We have a robust place in the Turkish economy with our ever-expanding sales and distribution network. We export to 41 countries across Africa, Asia, South America and the Middle East. Our biggest success in exports is meeting the demands of the end users with the R&D team. We select, mill and localize wheat with the technology we create, according to the consumption habits and bread types of each country. Its proximity to the Black Sea basin and the fact that it is a crit- ical intermediate point in wheat production, especially after the Russia-Ukraine war, drive Turkey forward in terms of exports. As Doruk Un, we realize 13% of the total flour export from Tur- key, excluding Iraq and Syria. Being only exporting to borders carries a substantial risk for Turkey in the future. This is why we turned towards different markets. The Grain Corridor Deal led by Turkey made a significant contribution to preventing the world food crisis, relieving grain supply and restraining prices. What kind of advantag- es do you think the deal provides for Turkey and the Turkish flour industrialists? The Grain Corridor Agreement is very important because if you keep the wheat in the Black Sea Basin, which constitutes almost 30-35% of the world wheat trade, here because of the war, this will lead to a food crisis and particularly severe crises related to flour and bread all over the world. We have over- come this with the grain corridor. A severe crisis has been by- passed for the whole world. The grain corridor is a critical opportunity for Turkey to main- tain its presence in the world flour market. Recently, some data were shared about the grain corridor, of which main purpose is to sell wheat and other grains to places in Africa and poor countries where access to food is limited. It was said that the cargoes of the ships passing through the corridor do not go to African countries. Maybe, looking at the instant data and statis- tics, it can be thought that the wheat going to these places is low. However, this calculation is incorrect. Because the wheat that Turkey imports also goes to poor African countries after being processed into flour and pasta. This should be evaluated not only as wheat, but also as final products. What should be done to increase Turkey’s wheat production? Let me tell you this. The farmer and the producer should be supported. Cultivation areas should not be allocated to peren- nials. In order to increase wheat production, it must be encour- aged especially by the government. I regard the support of the Turkish Grain Board to the farmer as a very accurate and appro- priate decision. In addition, it is necessary to use quality seeds to increase wheat yield. What do you think of TMO’s policy of providing cheap flour to bakers within the scope of a flour regulation? It is, for sure, very important that TMO supports the bread market amid the world’s food crisis, war and drought. However, it is not right to do this all the time. This is not compatible with