Speaking to Anadolu Agency ahead of the World Soil Day, Nov. 5., Eren Günhan Ulusoy, the head of the International Association of Operative Millers (IAOM) Eurasia, said the global climate change undoubtedly affected the agricultural sector closely.
Problems due to global climate change, especially the shift in the precipitation regimes, cause fluctuations in agricultural production from time to time in Turkey, he underlined.
“We have seen once again that wheat is a strategic product. After the pandemic broke, countries started to stock wheat,” Ulusoy highlighted.
While Pakistan does not import wheat before, it has been buying wheat during the pandemic period, he said, adding: “China will import 7 million tons wheat to strengthen its stocks. The country will close the year with 163 million tons of stock — which is half of the world wheat stock.”
Saying that Egypt and Saudi Arabia also continue their large amount of wheat purchases, Ulusoy stressed that all these purchases increase wheat prices.
“Turkey is not independent of global developments. All these processes concern us closely,” he said.
The pandemic process has once again shown the importance of licensed warehousing, he stressed, noting that licensed warehousing plays a crucial role in food safety.
Licensed warehouses store safely and economically agricultural products under the insurance protection. This service makes agricultural products exchangeable stocks and increases farmers’ incomes.
He said: “Increasing the capacity of licensed warehousing ensures our food safety in several situations, such as disruptions related to epidemics or foreign trade, not only for our farmers, traders, industrialists, but also for all our people.”
Therefore, agriculture is an extremely critical sector for the development of Turkey, and it will continue to develop rapidly, he added.
“There will be a decrease next season in yields due to the climate conditions because the October-November period was dry,” he stressed.
By Gökhan Ergöçün – Tuba Şahin
www.aa.com.tr