Turkey is a leading global exporter of flour. In the last five seasons, the country had to increase wheat import due to the reduction of the domestic production. The USDA estimates Turkish wheat crop at 16.3 mln tonnes in 2021/22 MY, down 23% compared to 2017 (21 mln tonnes). Therefore, the share of imported wheat in the overall supply on the Turkish market increased to 31% in 2021/22 MY (9 mln tonnes) compared to 22% in 2017/18 MY (6.2 mln tonnes). The 5-year average was 27%.
“In the recent 3 years, the industrial processing of wheat was higher than the domestic production (except feed consumption). Thus, the import of wheat at critical. In 2021/22 MY, the demand for wheat for industrial processing (18.8 mln tonnes) will exceed the harvest volume (16.3 mln tonnes) by 16%. Additionally, average 27% of wheat used for industrial processing went for production of export-oriented flour in the recent 5 years”, – Andriy Kupchenko, head of Business projects unit with APK-Inform explained.
Turkey mainly buys Russian and Ukrainian wheat. In 2019/20 MY, two countries covered 86% of Turkish wheat import. The share increased to 96% in 2020/21 MY. In July-February 2022, Ukraine shipped 1.8 mln tonnes of wheat to Turkey or 20% of the forecasted import volume for 2021/22 MY. Russia supplied 4.8 mln tonnes of wheat (53%).
“Thus, more that 20% of wheat import to Turkey remain unclear due to the military activity in Ukraine and limited shipments from Ukraine and Russia”, – the expert said.
More detailed information about the prospects of global trade with grains and oilseeds as well as by-products you can get at an international conference GRAIN&MARITIME DAYS 2022 IN ISTANBUL, which will be held on May 25.
