THE GLOBAL WINDOW OF TURKISH FOOD AND AGRICULTURE The Global Window of Turkish Food and Agriculture Sector
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Chair of Istanbul Commodity Exchange (İSTİB) Ali Kopuz said, “Our 2022 output may be adversely affected due to the increase in agricultural input prices. It is vital to enhance our agricultural output in 2022 by taking additional measures in this regard.”
Kopuz, whose evaluations are included in the statement made by İSTİB, pointed out that the importance of food and agriculture is rising every year and said, “Global problems such as climate change, the continuous decrease in soil quality and agricultural land existence, drought, population and food demand increase have made food and agriculture so significant that have never been in history. Especially in the last two years, this importance has been understood more clearly with the effect of the pandemic.”
Kopuz also emphasized that Turkey’s agriculture has become stronger with the right incentive policies that have been maintained for years, and explained:
“Thanks to these policies, our agricultural output has soared continuously in recent years. In 2021, we had a difficult year in agricultural production, with the effect of drought. The Plant Production Statistics for 2021 announced yesterday by TURKSTAT showed that there is a decrease in our production. While the output of grain and other herbal crops was 71.3 million tonnes in 2020, it was 61.7 million tonnes in 2021 with a decrease of 13.4 pct. This is the first output drop in years. On the other hand there is a slight increase in vegetables, fruits and spices, but the decrease in other agricultural products is remarkable.”
“For example, production amounts of grain products decreased by 14.3 percent in 2021 compared to the previous year and amounted to approximately 31.9 million tonnes. Compared to 2020, wheat production decreased by 13.9 percent, barley production by 30.7 percent and rye production by 32.4 percent. These are the major crops that have dropped the most. There is a similar situation in pulses. Meanwhile, there are products with increasing output. Soybean production from oilseeds, excluding vegetables and fruits, grown by 17.2 percent, while sunflower production increased by 16.8 percent,” Kopuz added.
Drawing attention to the rise in agricultural input prices in 2021, Kopuz continued his words as follows:
“In 2021, we have seen great price hikes in every agricultural input from fertilizers to pesticides. There were even times when sales stopped on the pretext of the instability in the exchange rate. It is useful to be prepared for such situations that will adversely affect our agricultural output. So due to the increase in agricultural input prices, our 2022 output may be adversely affected. It is vital to enhance our agricultural output in 2022 by taking additional measures in this regard. I wish you a happy and prosperous year.”
