Miller Magazine Issue: 156 December 2022

COVER STORY 69 MILLER / DECEMBER 2022 forming our product supply in the domestic market without any problems, we increased our exports to 652 million dollars in the first half of 2022, with a 33% increase compared to the same period of 2021, and we have reached the highest January-June export figure ever. Erhan Özmen explained the population growth of the coun- tries that have a say in the global wheat production since 1980 and the developments in wheat production amounts with figures. He stated that the population of Türkiye was 44 million in 1980, and this figure reached 86 million in 2022 with a 95% increase. During the same period, he noted that wheat production was 13 million tons in 1980, and that in 2022, wheat production is around 20 million tons with a 54% increase. Another issue that Erhan Özmen drew attention to was the decrease in wheat cultivation areas. Özmen reminded that wheat cultivation areas, which were 9 m ha in 1980, decreased to 6.8 m ha in 2022. Eren Günhan Ulusoy, who was the President of TFIF for two terms, said that export markets are very precious and these gains must not be lost. Ulusoy expressed that the Turkish flour industrialists attract attention in the world with their products and technology and noted that the industry must continue to grow by heading towards to more value-added products. A recipe for the sector emerged in the Final Declaration of the “Extended Sector Meeting” of the Association of Central Anatolian Flour Industrialists (OAUSD), which brought together all the stakeholders of the sector. Very important suggestions are attracting attention in the final declaration, in which many subjects are included in detail such as increasing wheat culti- vation areas, breeding new seeds suitable for climate change, premium supports for products, consolidation of agricultural lands, Türkiye’s flour export leadership, the diversity of export markets, TMO’s wheat stock and flour regulation. The declara- tion included the following remarks: During the production season, TMO purchasing policies were evaluated by the speakers. The general opinion was that the price offered by the TMO for wheat, and the successive the up- date and the second price for mwith the premium practice, was a realistic price compatible with world prices. It was revealed that this price was welcomed by the farmer, the trader and the indus- trialist and it was stated that the determined price was close to the free market level. It was evaluated that TMO’s ability to fulfill its duty of regulating the market in such a sensitive period depends on its ability to stock sufficiently, and that it could only fulfill its duty of regulating the markets properly only if it has 4-5 million tons in the stock, considering the current extraordinary conditions. In addition, the importance of reassuring the relevant sectors and having the power to prevent speculations by making stocks at this level with the purchasing policy implemented this year were highlighted. In the sessions, it was frequently underlined that the sustain- ability of wheat production depends on the wheat producer’s earning sufficient income from this activity and it was stated that for years wheat prices have been suppressed due to bread, which has been the staple food of consumers. It turns out that this practice means subsidization of bread through living off of the farmer, restricting the income of wheat farmer, reducing the competitiveness of wheat against competing products, and a gradual decrease in cultivation areas, particularly in irrigated areas. It was stated that the current and the last seasons, TMO started to implement a different method, “sale of wheat at a dis- count to flour factories which undertake to sell flour at a certain low price, a flour regulation”, so that the bread is directly subsi-