With the start of the execution, exports have started to recover and it is estimated that exports in 2021 will come close to the amount in 2020. On the other hand, the demands from Pacific and Far East countries such as Japan, Malaysia, and China, which demand high value-added and high-priced pasta produced with "domestic durum wheat", are continuing to be met. Our efforts to create the identity of "Anatolian Durum Wheat" in an attempt to strengthen the brand perception of Turkish Pasta and to create brand value have not been interrupted.
Abdülkadir Külahçıoğlu
Chairman
TMSD ( Pasta Industrialists Association of Turkey )
As the pandemic increased sales in the panic wave due to quarantine and the disruption it created in their supply chains, the importer countries began to look for alternative sellers, in the pasta industry, as in the whole food industry. At this point, as a reliable supplier, our industry has increased its exports. The fact that our exports to EU countries increased by 52% in 2020 despite the quota is the best example of this situation. According to research published by the International Pasta Organization (IPO), global pasta consumption increased by 25% in 2020. The increase in consumption has also been reflected in international trade statistics. According to Trademap data, 2020 global exports increased by 9.61% compared to the previous year reaching up to 8 million 105 thousand tons.
Final export of pasta was banned by the Ministry of Commerce from January 1 to April 30, 2021, and exports were only allowed under the inward processing regime (DIR), provided that the raw materials have been imported beforehand. The effects of this decision were immediately seen in our exports as a decrease due to the shortage in wheat supply. In order to ensure that the measures to be taken by the public authorities due to the drought in the 2020-2021 harvest season as well as the developments in the agricultural markets, a permanent arrangement has been suggested to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Ministry of Trade representing the common opinion of our industry.
CUSTOMER REQUESTS ARE DETERMINANT
In many countries, there is a habit of consuming pasta produced from 100 percent bread wheat or a mixture of bread and durum wheat in certain proportions. Production is made in line with this habit. The demand for pasta/orzo made from 100% bread wheat is coming from African and South American countries, where the majority of our sector's total exports are made, as well as from Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. Despite this, while 30 percent of bread wheat was allowed in the production of pasta exported only to African countries, with the amendment made in the legislation, at the most, 100 percent bread wheat is allowed to be used in the production of pasta/orzo to be exported to the specified countries in line with customer demands.