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Farmer penalized while producing, imports hit record high: A major collapse in wheat...
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ท Turkey /Economy & Trade

Farmer penalized while producing, imports hit record high: A major collapse in wheat...

From Cumhuriyet · () Turkish

Translated from Turkish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Turkey's wheat cultivation area has shrunk by 22 million decares since 2002, while barley cultivation has also declined.
  • Despite reduced domestic production, Turkey imported 112 million tons of wheat and 11 million tons of barley during the AKP's rule, costing $34 billion, primarily from Russia.
  • Farmers are protesting low official purchase prices for wheat and barley, which do not cover rising production costs, leading to financial losses and dissatisfaction with government support policies.

Turkey's agricultural sector faces a significant crisis as domestic wheat and barley cultivation areas have drastically shrunk, while imports have surged to record levels. Since 2002, the area dedicated to wheat cultivation has fallen from 93 million decares to 71 million decares, and barley cultivation has seen a similar decline.

While production declined, imports multiplied. During the AKP's rule, 112 million tons of wheat and 11 million tons of barley were imported. $31 billion was paid for wheat imports and $3 billion for barley imports.

โ€” Gazi KutluAgricultural writer Gazi Kutlu detailing the scale of imports and their cost during the AKP government's tenure.

During the ruling AKP party's tenure, Turkey imported a staggering 112 million tons of wheat and 11 million tons of barley, incurring an expense of $34 billion. The majority of these imports, particularly wheat, came from Russia, which supplied 95% of the 4.8 million tons imported last year. This year's imports are also on track to match or exceed previous totals.

Adding to the crisis, farmers are protesting the official purchase prices set by the Turkish Grain Board (TMO). Despite rising costs for fertilizers, fuel, and energy, the announced prices for wheat and barley are reportedly below production expenses. The wheat purchase price saw only a 22.2% increase, and barley a mere 15.9% increase, forcing farmers to sell their produce at a loss.

Despite sharp price increases in fertilizer, diesel, energy, and plastic products, the announced purchase prices remained below costs. The wheat purchase price, which was 13,500 lira last year, was only increased by 22.2% this year. The increase in barley price was only 15.9%.

โ€” Gazi KutluKutlu explaining how official purchase prices fail to cover farmers' rising production costs.

This situation has even drawn criticism from within the AKP party, with former Gaziantep lawmaker ลžamil Tayyar sharing farmers' grievances and reporting widespread anger. The government's stated commitment to protecting farmers appears to be at odds with the economic realities faced by those cultivating the land.

There were many phone calls and messages; the farmer is angry, informing the government.

โ€” ลžamil TayyarFormer AKP lawmaker ลžamil Tayyar relaying the extent of farmer discontent to the government.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Cumhuriyet in Turkish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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