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Press release…
Şemsi Bayraktar, Chairman of the Union of Turkish Agricultural Chambers (TZOB), stated that following the declaration of 2016 as the International Year of Pulses, pulses production soared by 24.5 percent between 2016 and 2024 and reached a total of 1 million 345 thousand tonnes with the efforts of the producers.
“Despite this increase, our supply deficit continues in pulses, which we produce the most except chickpeas. Statistics show that we have a deficit of 39.8 percent in green lentils, 14.1 percent in red lentils and 8.6 percent in dry beans,” Bayraktar said.
‘It is unacceptable that we are importers in pulses’
Pointing out that in the last 10 years, the import amount of dry beans, chickpeas and lentils increased by 55 percent from 379 thousand 869 tonnes to 587 thousand 500 tonnes,” Bayraktar noted, “The import value surged by 28 percent from 321 million dollars to 412 million 200 thousand dollars. Thus, in the last ten years, we paid 3 billion 629 million dollars for 5 million 44 thousand tonnes of imports. It is unacceptable that we are importers of pulses, one of the most important protein sources. We have to ramp up the production of pulses, which have an important place in meeting the protein needs of our people. For the healthy nutrition of our people, production of basic food products should be increased and imports should be abandoned.”
Highlighting that in their recent study, it is seen that the gap between the producer and the consumer in legumes is very clear, Bayraktar explained, “Red lentils, which are 23 liras in the producer, are sold for 60 liras in the market, chickpeas, which are 31 and a half liras, are sold for 89 liras, dried beans, which are 33 liras, are sold for 98 liras, and green lentils, which are 29 liras, are sold for 72 liras. Today, when red meat prices are high and the purchasing power of consumers is decreasing, there is no explanation for our consumers to eat these products, which are cheap in our producers in terms of meeting the protein need sufficiently.”
‘Ceiling price should be applied in markets’
Bayraktar proposed the following items to be applied:
‘Ceiling prices should be applied in markets for such basic food products.
Incentives to increase pulse production should be increased and the price difference between producers and consumers should be reduced to reasonable levels.
The market balance should not be disturbed by importing close to the harvest period.
A price policy that our producers will be satisfied with should be established.
In order for our producers to continue their production, the authorities should not ignore these problems and should develop policies to support domestic production.’
TZO
