Wheat production estimate for 2023 revised upwards

ISTANBUL

The National Grain Council (UHT) has revised its wheat production estimate for 2023 from a previous 20.75 million tons to 21.5 million tons amid better-than-expected precipitation.

After a dry winter, precipitation was strong in many regions in the months of March, April and May, the council said in a report.

The average rainfall during spring months, which is a crucial period for wheat growers, was above the precipitation recorded in the previous years. This led to a revision in wheat production estimate, according to the council.

The size of wheat cultivation areas will be around 7.3 million hectares during the 2022-2023 production year.

It is estimated that the wheat production in the Marmara region will remain the same compared with the long-year’s average, while the output will be 3 percent higher in the Aegean and the Mediterranean regions and 20 percent and 12 percent higher in the Black Sea and Eastern Anatolian regions.

The average annual wheat production in the past years was 20 million tons, said the report.

In May, Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) said that wheat production was forecast to increase by 3.8 percent in 2023 compared with 2022 to 20.5 million tons. It estimated that the country’s grain production will be around 39.5 million tons this year, rising by 2.1 percent from 2022.

Vegetable production will increase 1.9 percent to 2.6 million tons, while fruit output is expected to rise by 0.3 percent to 26.9 million tons, according to TÜİK.