Turkey’s wheat flour exports hit US$1.16B in 2024

Turkey – According to Mahmut Gurcan, Turkey’s Deputy Trade Minister, Turkey’s total wheat flour exports in 2024 were US$1.16B, with Iraq being the largest importer, followed by Syria, Somalia, Djibouti, and Venezuela.

Gurcan also highlighted the dominant position that Turkey has been holding in global wheat flour exports. In 2023, Turkey’s share of global wheat flour trade was US$1.47B, which represented 21.2% of the total global value which amounted to US$6.96B.

Turkey has historically been one of the world’s leading exporters of wheat flour, owing to its strategic geographical location, advanced milling capacity, and outstanding agricultural output.

Last year, the Turkish Agriculture Ministry announced that the country would cease to import wheat for a period (from June to October) to protect Turkey’s farmers from negative price fluctuations and other negative impacts during the year’s harvest.

However this ban on imports did not produce expected results. According to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute, Turkey’s flour exports in 2024 decreased by 20.9%, totaling US$1.159B and dropped from 3.648 million tonnes in 2023 to 3.022 million tonnes in 2024, representing a 17.2% decline.

As a result of these unimpressive results, the country announced about introduction of a new allocation system for wheat exports, replacing the full export ban.

Under this system, exporters of processed grain products (millers) will be permitted to import only 15% of the amount used for their exports, with the remaining 85% sourced from Turkish Grain Board (TMO) stocks in a bid to produce impressive results.

Gurcan in his announcement, continued to note that agricultural and food industry products comprised 12.4% of Turkey’s total exports in 2024, highlighting the country’s growing role as a key supplier in the global food market.

The country’s exports help bolster food security for neighboring nations, particularly Iraq, which has been relying on imports due to domestic production hurdles emanating from climate change, water scarcity, and geopolitical instability.

Deep-rooted corruption, resource mismanagement, and budgetary inefficiencies under the federal government in Baghdad have also caused Iraq to remain highly dependent on food imports.

Resultantly, Iraq remains one of the most food-import-dependent nations in the region, making it to rely on external suppliers like Turkey to fill the deficit in demand.

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