TURKISH AGRI.NEWS

As people in Turkey take precautions against coronavirus , they need not fear any disruption in the nation's food supply, said a top Turkish official on March 18. Turkey has no problem in the production, stock, or supply chain of basic food products, said Bekir Pakdemirli, the agriculture and forestry minister. “Stocks of the Turkish Grain Board (TMO) contain enough products to meet the needs of the feeder, grower, industrialist, and consumer,” he said in a written statement. No problems are expected in the days and months to come, he added, saying that the ministry has taken all the necessary measures in coordination with the Trade and Health Ministries. The board “will continue to sell cereals and pulses until the end of the season” wholesale, he noted, along with such staples as rice, chickpeas and lentils. In addition, at around 150 TMO sales points nationwide, the board will also sell these foodstuffs retail to ensure that the public can purchase them at affordable prices,...

Turkey generated nearly $12.5 billion from international wheat trade over the last 17 years, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli said Wednesday. While Turkey imported 63.7 million tons of wheat worth $17.5 billion between 2002 and 2019, the country exported 75.7 million tons of wheat and wheat products, like flour, pasta and biscuits, worth $29.9 billion, Pakdemirli said in a statement. This means, he said, that Ankara generated an income of nearly $12.5 billion from wheat trade over 17 years. "Turkey is self-sufficient in wheat, producing 20 million tons and consuming of 18.5 million tons annually," he added. Surplus wheat is exported by Turkey, which is the world's top flour, semolina and cracked wheat exporter and second-biggest pasta exporter. Pakdemirli added that Turkey supports its farmers in boosting agricultural output.

Turkey's agriculture and forestry minister said Friday that 82 million saplings, almost as many as the country's population, will be planted across the country by November. "The rooting average of the saplings planted on Nov. 11, 2019, is 95 percent," Bekir Pakdemirli told Anadolu Agency's (AA) Editors' Desk in the capital Ankara. Over 11 million saplings were planted in more than 2,000 different localities across Turkey on Nov. 11 at 11:11 a.m. local time, as part of the "Breath for the Future" campaign launched by the ministry. Nov. 11 was declared National Forestation Day to be marked annually. The ministry planted the saplings on behalf of people who adopted them online as part of the massive forestation campaign. Pakdemirli added that the ministry itself plants nearly 300 million trees per year. The country has set a new world record for planting the most saplings in an hour, according to Guinness World Record officials, with 303,150 saplings ...

The "Ancestors' Seeds" project initiated two years ago, under the patronage of first lady Emine Erdoğan, looks to boost Turkey's storage of locally produced seeds. Emine Erdoğan joined officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, which coordinates the project, for a demonstration of the progress of the scheme. Officials said more than 1,000 seeds donated by citizens were classified, had their genetic and chemical definitions recorded before they were multiplied. Speaking at the event, Agriculture Minister Dr. Bekir Pakdemirli said they currently had nearly 60 tons of produce, from peppers of Kandır, cucumbers from Samsun and the 10-slice melon from Çorum to the white, short tomato of Ayaş. The ministry issued a regulation Tuesday for the preservation of local seeds and defined rules for growing, marketing and the sustainable use of seeds. Pakdemirli said the new regulations aim to collect seeds properly and preserve them with the state's s...

Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Dr. Bekir Pakdemirli said that in parallel with Turkey's 2023 objectives, primarily modern irrigation projects where economically irrigated areas of 8.5 million hectares and simultaneously land consolidation projects will be implemented. According to a written statement from the ministry, it is emphasized that land consolidation and irrigation is one of the most important measures to increase productivity in the country which has about 28 million hectares of agricultural land. 14.2 million hectares of agricultural land in the country is suitable for land consolidation. In this context, land registration activities have been completed on 3.6 million hectares of land within the scope of consolidation works carried out by various institutions and organizations on 8.2 million hectares until 2018. Minister Pakdemirli stated in the statement that the purpose of land consolidation is not only to combine larger agricultural parcels to obtain lar...

The annual volume of aquaculture production in dams and ponds at the disposal of the General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works (DSİ) has reached around 940 million liras, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli said yesterday. Pakdemirli said dams and lakes, due to their roles in agricultural irrigation is the guarantee of Turkey's food security. He added that they also pave the way for fishing activities. "The annual volume of aquaculture production in dams and ponds, at the DSİ's disposal has reached around 940 million liras." The minister said 110,000 tons of aquaculture products was produced in 2018 from dams and ponds. "Around 14,000 tons of various types of aquaculture were obtained in 179 dams, which opened for commercial fishing in 2018," he said. Turkey's dams and ponds have about 30 different fish species with economic value. A total of seven Aquaculture Stations belonging to DSİ are working to support these natural spec...

Agriculture and Forestry Minister Dr. Bekir Pakdemirli announced that 2019-2020 production season sunflower purchase price has been determined as 2 thousand 500 liras per ton. Pakdemirli, in his written statement, declared the purchase price of sunflower production season 2019-2020. Pakdemirli pointed out that oily sunflower has a share of 75-80 percent of vegetable oil consumption in Turkey and with the high oil content is the most important oil-seeded plant. "The Ministry and the sector representatives have been working together for a while on the price too" he noted. While Pakdemirli indicated that these studies were finalized, as a result of the evaluation of oily sunflower production and developments in foreign markets and domestic market dynamics in the world, the price of oily sunflower seed with 40 percent oil content, 9 percent moisture content and 2-4 percent outer substance content for 2019-2020 production season determined as 2 thousand 500 liras per t...

Pakdemirli: We will not victimize seedless raisin producers in 2019/20 season All parties of seedless raisin of which is Turkey the world leader, farmers, traders and exporters came together with Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Dr. Bekir Pakdemirli at the Aegean Exporters Association in Izmir. Producers want 10 TL for grapes... Speaking at the meeting, representatives of Chambers of Agriculture expressed the producer's expectation of raisin prices for the 2019/20 season as 10 TL. Celep: Let TMO purchase 20 thousand tons of grapes, Turkey's exports increase 80 million dollars Birol Celep, Chairman of the Board of Aegean Dried Fruit and Products Exporters' Association, said: "10 TL price expectation of producers is reasonable. What we demand from TMO (Turkish Grain Board) to purchase 20 thousand tons of raisins in order not to go below this price level. We have just delivered this demand to Bekir Pakdemirli and TMO General Manager Ahmet Güldal." S...

Turkey Specialized Products Exchange (TÜRİB) Operating Permit Document Delivery Ceremony was held with the participations of Minister of Trade Ruhsar Pekcan, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Dr. Bekir Pakdemirli and the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu.​ In his speech at the ceremony, TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu emphasized that globalization and drastic changes in technology affect every aspect of life. “In the US today, many factors such as the type of agricultural products planted in China, the amount and the timing of cultivation affect the price of food at the table. For this reason, we need to increase the efficiency of agricultural markets and have a developed agricultural market. To the north are Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, some of the world's largest grain exporters. In the south, the Middle East and the Gulf countries are among the largest grain and food importing countries.” Hisarcıklıoğlu said, usi...

Turkey Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli "Canola has a considerable added value." "So I think it is useful to support the production of canola as a drought-resistant product," he said. Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Bekir Pakdemirli, Silivri Municipality Yaşar Kemal Exhibition Hall at the event, headmen and chamber cooperatives operating in the district, met with the head of villages, producers, employers of flour and feed factories at the event took place in Silivri, near Istanbul. Here, addressing the participants, "Producers of this region have shown a significant performance in the last 15 years. The total agricultural area, agricultural output and the variety of crops it has achieved, this region has demonstrated an exemplary production performance" Pakdemirli said. Silivri farmers have covered great distance indeed, especially in the production of canola, more than 700 percent of the increase in this area was caught. ...