Minister Kirişci told reporters that Kahramanmaraş is a fertile city in a wheat field in the Cheesedere District rural area of Dulkadiroğlu district.
Stating that the field they are in is not yet close to harvest, Kirişci said, “We expect to receive as much precipitation as possible between October and February under normal conditions. But this year has been a bit dry. After February, there was an increase in precipitation, especially in March-April-May. Especially in April-May, some regions I am telling you that the highest precipitation averages of the last 63 years have been reached. I hope that these precipitations will allow for abundance, increase in productivity and compensation for the loss in the name of compensating for the dry period. We expect a high yield this year. Due to the temperature difference between night and day, I hope our product quality will be very good. It is very high because the higher the temperature difference between day and night, the better quality wheat we can obtain,” he said.
Pointing out that approximately 21 million tons of wheat is expected with an increase of 5 percent, Kirişci said:
“This 21 million tons of wheat is really sufficient to meet the needs of Turkey. In this sense, we will not lack anything. While we were talking about 21 million tons of wheat with high yield and quality, we, as the Government, took the necessary measures as the Turkish Grain Board. We increased the customs duty on wheat from 0 to 130 percent with the decision of the Presidency, thus, we have taken an important action to protect the producer and the domestic market.As it is known, Turkey’s products such as flour, bulgur, pasta and semolina, which we have purchased from within the framework of our practices, under the name of inward processing regime. “We are processing and exporting them. Previous applications were to import first, then export. But within the framework of the decision we have taken in the new period, it will export first and then import. Our aim here is to increase the customs duty, as well as internal processing of enterprises that carry out inward processing activities.” It was the desire to buy products from the market and add value to the products of our own manufacturer. Another important decision we took as the government was that in previous years, diesel and fertilizer subsidies were paid towards the end of March. But we have brought the diesel and fertilizer support for grains forward by 6 months. We gave these supports not in cash, but in kind, and brought them forward 6 months. I would like to state that this also contributes to our producer.”
Price disclosure
Explaining that they will continue to be with the producers as always, Kirişci said:
“Both our Turkish Grain Board and all of our licensed warehouses belonging to the private sector, our producers can harvest their products and store their products in these warehouses if they wish. When we announce the price, they can realize their own preferences. In other words, when we announce the prices as the Turkish Grain Board, the producer will make his own decision and will have sold the products in the warehouses. Last year To take an example, we announced our price for 2022 on June 5. I hope we will be explaining the necessary time, the necessary price, when necessary, taking into account the market conditions and seasonal conditions this year. It was an agricultural sector that did not exist and wanted to be shaped according to political ambitions. We have seen many applications of these in the past. But thank God, during the 21-year AK Party governments, every decision, step, scientific, market conditions, farmer’s welfare, production costs and at the same time, it has a structure that protects and watches over the consumer. We set our prices accordingly. We shared this with the public. In 2022, we bought wheat, which was 2250 liras in the previous year, for 7 thousand 450 liras. A thousand lira of 7 thousand 450 liras was for the products delivered to the Turkish Grain Board. In the market, 6 thousand 450 liras of wheat were traded. This year, we will sit down and do these calculations. For us, the production costs and welfare level of the producer will be important in this sense. We will also take into account the market conditions.”
Minister Kirişci wished the producers productive days and added that the producer will be happy and happy in the Century of Turkey.
