THE GLOBAL WINDOW OF TURKISH FOOD AND AGRICULTURE The Global Window of Turkish Food and Agriculture Sector
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Press release…
Organised under the theme “A Critical Turning Point for Turkish Cotton”, the 8th National Cotton Summit brought together all stakeholders in the sector. The summit began with an opening address by Fevzi Çondur, Chairman of the Board of the National Cotton Council and continued with speeches by İhsan Emiralioğlu, Deputy Director General of Plant Production at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and Dr. Süleyman Elban, Governor of İzmir.
Fevzi Çondur, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Cotton Council, who delivered the opening address, stated that they had gathered to assess the current state of the cotton sector, develop solutions to the challenges it faces, and address strategic issues for the future. Emphasising that Türkiye holds a significant share in global cotton production despite its limited cultivation area, Çondur noted that this success highlights the importance of a sustainable and traceable production approach.
İhsan Emiralioğlu, Deputy Director General of Plant Production at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, noted that the first four months of 2026 had seen higher rainfall compared to the previous two years, suggesting increased expectations for a bountiful year in terms of agricultural production. Emiralioğlu, highlighting that cotton is one of the 13 strategic crops designated by the Ministry, stated that Türkiye distinguishes itself from global producers through high-quality and GMO-free production. Emiralioğlu also underlined that the country ranks among the top three globally in terms of cotton yield per unit area, noting that the yield of lint cotton, which stood at 353 kilograms per decare in 2002, has risen by 36 per cent to reach 480 kilograms, whilst the global average is approximately 236 kilograms. Emiralioğlu also announced that they continue to support cotton production and said, “The support (subsidy) rate, which was 1,098 TL per decare in 2025, has been increased to 1,395 TL for 2026.”
The summit, which took place in two sessions, began with the first session moderated by Bertan Balçık, a representative of Söke Oil Industry Ltd. (Söke Yağ Sanayi Tic. Ltd. Şti); the topic “Problems in Domestic Cotton Production and Proposed Solutions” was discussed with the participation of producer Ömer Fuat Tanman, Selahattin Güneş, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Çukobirlik Şanlıurfa Cooperative, Şeref İyiuyarlar, Member of the Board of Directors of the İzmir Commodity Exchange and İsmail Özdemir, Member of the Board of Directors of Tars Labs.
In the second session, moderated by Ahmet Fikret Kileci, Chairman of the Board of Directors at GATHİB, the topic of “The Competitiveness of Turkish Textiles in the Global Market” was discussed by Mehmet Ferruh Uz, Board Member of the Aegean Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’ Association; Onur Uçak, Board Member of Uçak Textile Import Export Industry and Trade Inc.; Turan Göksan, Chairman of the Board of the Aegean Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’ Association and Ertuğrul Tanrıverdi, Board Member of Ensar Textile.
The summit concluded with the presentation of plaques to the sponsoring companies and speakers who contributed to the programme, following the closing speech by Fevzi Çondur, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Cotton Council…
