08.03.2020 Ankara
The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that the dormant treasury and individual land should be rented and brought into production by land banking, “We must move to the economy of scale. Because if you want to survive in this day and age, you either need to produce a lot, to buy a lot, or sell a lot. That's the rule of this era.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu,
speaking at the opening of the Commodity Exchanges Council Meeting held at TOBB,
stated that they would consult with Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan, Agriculture
and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli on how to increase production,
agriculture and trade.
Stating
that agriculture and animal husbandry is an area that should not be neglected,
Hisarcıklıoğlu reported that the middle income group continues to grow in the
world and consumption is increasing steadily.
Hisarcıklıoğlu
drew attention to the fact that 2 billion people are living in Turkey's region,
wherein 500 billion dollars of food, agriculture and livestock products are
imported.
Pointing
out that Turkey has a great opportunity, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We can feed the
whole region. So we gain both money and strategic power. Whoever feeds the
world is the world's leading country. The world food market is $1.5 trillion, Turkey's
share here is $18 billion, only 1.2%. We're way below our potential. In our
opinion, the first important point here is that we need to move from the model
of selling whatever we happen to produce to the production model focusing on
what will sell.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu,
pointing out that in order to reduce input costs in agriculture and livestock, a
joint production model should be implemented, said that the contract production
model should be expanded.
Referring
to the dormant land, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “The treasury and individual land in
the dormant state should be rented and brought into production by renting with
land banking. We need to transition to economy of scale. Because if you want to
survive in this day and age, you either need to produce a lot, to buy a lot, or
sell a lot. That's the rule of this era.”
- “The 50-year dream of Turkish
agriculture has come true”
Hisarcıklıoğlu,
pointing to the implementation of licensed warehousing, said that the state has
provided investment, rent, logistics and analysis supports for further
development.
Hisarcıklıoğlu
stated that licensed warehousing investments are increasing rapidly with the
efforts of both commodity exchanges and entrepreneurs, and said, “The 50-year
dream of Turkish agriculture, my 15-year dream came true. With the support of
our government and ministries, we have completed the establishment of the
Product Specialized Exchanges. Product notes from the licensed warehouse can
now be bought and sold on Product Specialized Exchanges. We are carrying out
projects and studies that will further develop the agricultural and livestock
sector, with 113 commodity exchanges across TOBB and Turkey. We are developing commodity
exchanges in parallel with the digital transformation of the world. Thanks to
the registration software we have prepared, we integrate the trading exchanges
with many relevant institutions.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu,
stating that in terms of geographical markers, chambers and exchanges are the
most active working organizations in Turkey, said, “Currently, 40% of
geographically marked products were registered by our chambers and exchanges.
We have ensured that our 3 geographically marked products are registered in
Europe; the Gaziantep baklava, the Aydın fig and the Malatya apricot. Many of
our products in Europe are in the process of registration. We are also working
across the country to increase the production, trade and consumption of
geographically marked products. Together with our trade exchanges, we will
continue to work on the transformation of agriculture and livestock.”
- Agriculture and Forestry Minister
Bekir Pakdemirli
Agriculture
and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli said they’ve found the opportunity to engage
in a high degree actionable work with the Presidential Government System.
Pakdemirli
stated that, with rapid coordination with the relevant ministers, they receive
results very quickly, “We are solving everything that needs to be resolved. We
are obliged to serve our business world, our citizens. We need to be more
motivated to grow our business world and increase employment, and needs better
direction. We seek to answers of question like how do we support our business
world, what kind of business world employs another person, how our businessmen,
how can they make more money, how can we ensure that they can do their jobs
more smoothly.”
Pakdemirli
pointed out that agriculture is much more important than the defense industry,
and said: “Agriculture is not an issue to be instrumental in politics. We're
not supposed to bring the food we consume into everyday politics.
Unfortunately, I find the ongoing wheat and hay debate tragicomic. Arguments
are cherry-picked, bemoaning the state of Turkey, and unfortunately they are
trying to deter our producer from their job. Turkey continues to grow steadily
in agriculture despite the decline of the population in this area. Agriculture
has shown itself as a sector that is growing steadily.”
Pakdemirli
reminded that they convened the Agricultural Forest Summit last year as the
ministry, and that agriculture in Turkey is more talked about and commented on
than football. Pakdemirli, by making the lessons they take from here into a
business plan, they want to make these 5-year plans every 5 years, and shed
light on 25 years moving forward. Pakdemirli pointed out that they are
organizing one of the most important campaigns in the history of the Republic
and with the Breath for the Future Campaign, that more than 1 million people have
planted more than 13 million saplings.
Pakdemirli
emphasized that he sees licensed warehousing works as a success in agriculture,
and said: “One of the development areas in agriculture is the good management
of the processes of the product after the field. One of the conditions in
managing these processes well is the provision of logistics, storage conditions
and price stability. In this sense, product specialized exchanges, licensed
warehousing, income guaranteed product insurance spurring farmers will be
introduced. That's what's in the U.S. All that is necessary is for product specialized
exchanges to gain sufficient penetration. From now on, our producers will know how
many liras the product they plant will sell for tomorrow. I care deeply about
that. This means manufacturers looking to the future more confidently."
Pakdemirli,
emphasizing that geographical markers and branding is also extremely important,
said, “Even the simplest products have meaning. When Queen Elizabeth ate Bursa's
black fig, the price of this product increased. We should be selling Turkish
products by uploading stories and meanings on the products. Turkey is a healthy
and gmo-free producing country. We have very important potential in processed
food. We are at the disposal of our businessmen today as well as tomorrow.”
- Minister of Trade Ruhsar Pekcan
Trade
Minister Ruhsar Pekcan said that they broke records in exports, and that the
contribution of trade exchanges was great.
Pekcan
stated that the work of trade exchanges locally in both livestock and
agricultural trade and export is extremely important, "We have developed
licensed storage. Currently, 183 companies have obtained permission for the
license, 91 are already active. We have increased our licensed warehouse
capacity to 4.8 million tons, our goal is to increase to 10 million tons. As of
July 2019, we opened the Product Specialized Exchange, and here we made it
possible to trade products on a single platform without relocating
electronically."
Pekcan
emphasized that they expect support to cooperativization in the provinces and
districts where they are located from the commodity exchanges, and that both
the trade and exports of local, regional and geographically marked products can
be increased thanks to cooperativization.
Pekcan,
pointing out that the Ministry of Trade attaches great importance to
technological development, reminded that they have taken operations related to
export supports completely electronically from New Year's Eve.
In
addition, they have adopted ‘consulting with the consultant’ regarding foreign
representation, Pekcan noted that through the system, trade consultants can now
be reached wherever they are in the world, and commodity exchanges can also be
accessed from these systems should benefit from it.
Pekcan,
touching on the Virtual Trade Academy which they started, stating that the
website was edited and implemented, and that there is intense information
covering every stage of trade.
Noting
that they provide all kinds of training online regarding entrepreneurship,
exports, supports, international trade rules, Pekcan stated that they want trade
exchanges members and commodity exchange personnel to make use of them as well.
Pekcan,
noting that they have established export support offices, said, “We are always
on the side of the business world with our technological breakthroughs."
- “Radical transformation should be
made in agriculture”
Trade
Exchanges Council Chairman and Konya Commodity Exchange (KTB) President Hüseyin
Çevik also noted that agriculture and food is gaining importance as a strategic
sector for national security, it is inevitable that radical transformations
will need to be made in the agricultural sector.
Emphasizing
the need to resolve the problems that will pave the way for the sector and move
the country forward in agricultural production and trade, Çevik said: “Supports
for agricultural electricity, input costs, agricultural employment,
agricultural irrigation, water transfer between basins, reduction in strategic
product wheat cultivation areas, input costs in livestock and animal
production, financial supports, effective use of licensed storage,
technological and digital in agricultural production and trade are problems
waiting to be resolved by our sector. In order to balance the manipulations of
our agricultural industry through pricing, production should be ensured under free
market conditions.”