TURKISH AGRI.NEWS

Rising demand for flour... Eren Günhan Ulusoy, the head of the International Association of Operative Millers (IAOM) Eurasia, said that demand for flour in Europe has risen sharply since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Following the rapid spread of COVID-19, demand has been high for flour and flour products such as pasta, Eren Günhan Ulusoy told Anadolu Agency. "In Turkey a fall in flour consumption after the closing of restaurants and cafes was balanced out by a leap in retail sales," he said. While there has been no been change in overall flour consumption, there has been a shift towards the retail side of demand, he stressed, adding: "In March, sudden demands in retail jumped from 5% of the market to 10-12%." Stepped-up flour production... Explaining that Turkey boasts a flour production capacity more than twice its needs, Ulusoy added that it can redirect its inventories and capacity for exports to the domestic market upon request. ...

As many people turn to baking bread at home amid the restrictions on moving around, it is now difficult to find yeast products on the shelves in Istanbul. “Fortunately, the bakery shops haven’t faced a problem of finding yeast,” said Bakeries Federation of Turkey head Halil İbrahim Balcı. “I hope, there won’t be a problem [of yeast scarcity] on the supermarket shelves soon,” he added, recalling that tariffs on molasses, a substance contained in yeast, brewing, distilling, canning and confectionary products, have recently been lifted. While demand for yeast products from households is on the rise, sales to the bakeries has been decreasing, said Ünsal Yamaner, general manager of industrial yeast producer Lesaffre. “Demand from retail customers has increased six-fold in March when compared to February. We can expect a similar trend in April,” he said. The company has developed new product varieties and package sizes, he added. Molasses is also used in producing cologne w...