Turkey takes helm of $55B wheat market

By Gokhan Ergocun</p> <p>ISTANBUL (AA) – Turkey’s trade group for flour producers is taking the Eurasian helm of an international millers’ association, it announced on Monday.</p> <p>By taking the Eurasia region administration of the International Association of Operative Millers (IAOM), the Turkish Flour Industrialists' Federation (TFIF) took responsibility for $55 billion of the total world wheat market ($180 billion) and $2.5 billion of all flour trade in the world ($5 billion), said Gunhan Ulusoy, head of the TFIF. </p> <p>&quot;The Eurasia region became the most important region in recent years in wheat production and flour trade,&quot; he told a press conference in Istanbul.</p> <p>IAOM's Euroasia region represents 30 percent of the world's wheat production (737 million tons) and over half of the flour trade in the world, with 32 countries whose total GDP is $7.1 trillion and population around 2 billion.</p> <p>Ulusoy stressed that the region includes some of the world’s largest wheat-producing countries such as Russia (71.6 million tons), Ukraine (25 million tons), Turkey (19 million tons) and Kazakhstan (16 million tons).</p> <p>&quot;Turkey succeeded in this area thanks to government support,&quot; he said.</p> <p>He added that 12,000-year-old wheat — perhaps the world's first — has its origins in the famed ancient site of Gobeklitepe in Turkey's southeastern province of Sanliurfa.</p> <p>The IAOM, founded in 1896, represents around 70 countries worldwide and focuses on improving profitability and efficiency in the milling and wheat sectors.</p> <p>The TFIF, founded in 2005, represents 90 percent of the Turkish flour sector with over 400 members in Turkey.</p> <p>Turkey has been the world’s top flour exporter for the last six years, and it hopes to export flour to over 100 countries.</p> <p>It is also in the world top 10 for wheat production, with 19 million tons.