BBM 74 - March 2024

BBM • MARCH - MART 2024 54 and barley, thanks to the concerted efforts of the Ministry of Agri- culture and Forestry and TMO to ensure sustainable production of wheat, a strategic commodity. Mr. Ahmet Güldal, who has adeptly steered TMO, a pivotal en- tity in Turkey’s food security landscape, for over five years, delved into significant topics such as grain supply dynamics domestically and globally, geopolitical risks associated with grain trade, TMO’s strategic storage policy, and yield projections for 2024. Beloware the responses provided byMr. Güldal to our questions: You had mentioned that 2024 would be a year to manage abundance. It has indeed turned out to be a year of record pro- duction in grains, especially wheat. Could we receive a brief evaluation of the 2024 season from you? In 2024, we witnessed a season characterized by abun- dance, both on a global scale and within our own borders. Worldwide, production figures soared with 788 million tons of wheat, 146 million tons of barley, and a staggering 1.2 billion tons of corn harvested. Looking at the situation in our country, the successful procure- ment policy we implemented the previous year effectively en- couraged our farmers to focus on wheat. Although the lack of suf- ficient rainfall across the country until mid-February caused some concern, thankfully, the rains received later resulted in a yield that brought smiles to both us and our producers. Certainly, as you know, the government implements prefer- ential treatment for wheat. Wheat, being the most strategically important product globally, holds significant importance for our country as well. Consequently, we shape our procurement poli- cies within the framework of the general policies set by the Min- istry of Agriculture and Forestry. In 2024, the grain procurement prices we announced were above market rates, ensuring that our producers received fair compensation for their efforts. Consequently, the abundance of the harvest coupled with fa- vorable TMOprices has bolstered confidence in us. Following the price announcement by the President on June 6th, we witnessed a surge in purchases. Over the course of this extraordinary period spanning approximately 5 and half months, we surpassed the re- cord of our 85-year history by procuring over 13 million tons. This year, we have elevated the daily average of grain pur- chases from 110 thousand tons to over 200 thousand tons. Our dedicated staff worked tirelessly, including late nights and week- ends, without regard for conventional working hours. We ensured accessibility to our producers by establishing buying points even in the most remote areas of our country. Serving our producers at 614 buying points, we scheduled over 670 thousand appoint- ments. Our payments exceeded 100 billion Turkish Liras. In es- sence, we set records in purchase volume, the number of buy- lar sayesinde ekim alanlarımızdaki düşüş trendinin tersine çevrildiğini, çiftçilerimizin yeniden buğdaya ve arpaya yö- neldiğini belirtti. Türkiye’nin gıda güvenliği açısından hayatî rol oynayan TMO’yu beş yılı aşkın süredir başarılı bir şekilde yöneten TMO Genel Müdürü Sn. Ahmet Güldal; Türkiye ve dünyada tahıl arzı, hububat ticaretindeki jeopolitik riskler, Ofis’in stra- tejik depolama politikası ve 2024’e yönelik rekolte beklenti- leri gibi önemli konularda açıklamalarda bulundu. İşte, Sn. Güldal’ın sorularımıza verdiği cevaplar: Sayın Genel Müdürüm, 2024 için “Bolluğu yöneteceği- miz bir yıl olacak.” demiştiniz. Başta buğday olmak üzere tahılda rekor üretim gerçekleştirdiğimiz bir yıl oldu. 2024 yılı sezonuna dair kısa bir değerlendirmenizi alabilir miyiz? 2024 yılında bolluğun yaşandığı bir sezonu deneyimledik. Hem küresel hem de ülkemiz açısından oldukça bereketli bir yıl oldu. Küresel düzeyde bu yıl 788 milyon ton buğday, 146 milyon ton arpa ve 1,2 milyar ton mısır üretildi. Ülkemizdeki duruma bakacak olursak, bir önceki yıl uy- guladığımız başarılı alım politikası çiftçilerimizin buğdaya yönelmesinde etkili oldu. Şubat ayının ortasına kadar ülke INTERVIEW • RÖPORTAJ