Istanbul bread lures European investors

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet

Production facility of Istanbul Halk Ekmek, a subdidiary of Istanbul municipality that manufactures and sells bread, is seen in this photo. AA photo

Foreign firms looking to invest in the local bread sector have been disappointed, as Dutch, Spanish and German bread producers who expressed interest in acquiring municipality-owned bread producer and seller firm Halk Ekmek have had their requests declined, Halk Ekmek general director has said.

“Foreign investors can’t hide their astonishment when they see our [bread production] facilities,” Halk Ekmek general director Salih Bekaroğlu said.

Halk Ekmek, a subsidiary of Istanbul Municipality that produces nearly 1.2 million loaves of breads daily in three facilities in the city, “has whet the appetite of foreign companies including Dutch, German and Spanish investors,” according to Bkaroğlu’s remarks.

Halk Ekmek has refused potential mergers and acquisitions with the foreign firms because it does not act like a private sector company as it is a municipal subsidiary, he said.

Even the company refused these offers, the director said; “these foreign firms have expressed their desire to enter the bread business in Turkey and asked Halk Ekmek for guidance in the sector.”

Bekaroğlu also said Turkey should pursue new ways of bread production as there are new ways to produce healthier bread with a lower cost through different industries. He added that the production of most Turkish bakeries lagged behind industrial developments and they should merge to keep up with technological developments.