Turkey to increase cereal stocks due to global warming and war in Ukraine

Turkey has decided to increase its food reserves due to global warming and the war in Ukraine, the Yeni Akit newspaper reports.

“In this regard, the Turkish Grain Council (TMO) will annually organize stocks of at least 1.5 million tons of wheat, 250 thousand tons of barley, 150 thousand tons of corn and 50 thousand tons of rice in case of unforeseen situations. The institution will spend 5 billion liras (almost $154 million) to create food reserves,” the newspaper writes, adding that Turkey wants to minimize the possible consequences of global climate change and the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Turkish authorities earlier announced that they would suspend wheat imports from June 21 to October 15. After that date, the import suspension may be extended depending on market conditions. According to the report, this is one of the measures aimed at protecting local producers so that they do not suffer as a result of lower wheat prices.

Turkey’s wheat imports in the first quarter of this year amounted to 2.1 million tons of wheat worth $530 million, with 69% of these purchases coming from Russia. Ukraine (27%) and Moldova (1.6%) were also among the major sellers of wheat to Turkey. Bulgaria, Romania and Syria accounted for about 1% each.

Tags: Turkey, barley, rice, wheat, stocks, corn