Turkey’s wheat crop may rise 12 percent

Bloomberg

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The increase, to about 20 million metric tons from 17.8 million tons, underlines the country’s determination to remain a wheat-exporting country, Eker said in an interview in Ankara. Rain and snow levels in Turkey, the Middle East’s largest exporter of the grain, have been good this year, he said.

Low rainfall last year prompted the government to cut import duties on commodities such as rice as local prices jumped. The ministry has given out 500 million Turkish Liras ($290 million) in loans to help farmers install drip-irrigation systems and is prepared to spend again to ensure production, Eker said.

"I’ve done four budgets as a minister and in none of them has the year-end spend matched the original allocation," Eker said. "Whatever is needed for agriculture, the resources will be found and used."

The ministry estimates droughts, such as last year’s, occur in the country every two decades, although global climate changes may make them more frequent in the future, Eker said.

While farmers are experimenting with strains that are more resistant to drought, the ministry remains opposed to the use of genetically modified crops, Eker said. The government is preparing legislation that may allow genetically modified produce to be used in restricted test areas, he said.

Turkey hasn’t benefited from the so-called Health Check, under which the European Union reviewed the functioning of the bloc’s Common Agricultural Policy, Eker added.