Minister İbrahim Yumaklı Inaugurates New TMO Warehouses in Mersin
Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı visited Erdem Karadağ, Director of the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry in Mersin, to discuss ongoing projects and met with the directorate’s staff over a meal. Later, in the Mediterranean district, Yumaklı attended the opening ceremony of the new Turkish Grain Board (TMO) warehouses.
In his speech, Yumaklı said that nearly half of Turkey’s grain harvest has been completed. Recalling that TMO announced the reference price on June 6 just like last year, Yumaklı emphasized that while determining this price, factors such as production costs in Turkey, global markets, and stock conditions were taken into account.
He detailed the measures, “This price is a reference price. It is not a ceiling price. If any price forms below this level, we, as the Turkish Grain Board, will purchase all the products from farmers at over 600 collection points across Turkey. Since the beginning of the harvest, around 121,000 producers have applied for nearly 5 million tons, and appointments have been given. To date, TMO has acquired over 1 million tons of products.”
Minister Yumaklı mentioned that last year TMO broke a record in the history of the Republic by purchasing around 13 million tons. He stressed that TMO is ready to purchase volumes similar to those of last year.
Addressing misinformation, Yumaklı said, “Claims that TMO’s warehouses are full and cannot accept new products are false. TMO has the capacity to buy as much as last year. Another misinformation is that TMO’s warehouses are filled with imported products. This is absolutely not true. Around 90% of the products in TMO’s warehouses are from our own producers.”
The Minister also announced that special permissions have been granted for the export of 100,000 tons of durum wheat as of now, stating that such measures ensure fair prices for producers and encourage them not to sell their products below the reference price. “We will purchase these products at the announced prices,” he added.
Yumaklı reiterated that payments for the products TMO buys will be made within 45 days. He also pointed out that payments have already been made for deliveries up to May and for those up to June 6. These payments will continue periodically.
Finally, Minister Yumaklı inaugurated the new TMO warehouses in Mersin, which have a storage capacity of 30,000 tons and feature a modern 8,000 square meters closed area. The facilities also include climate control and ventilation systems. “These new warehouses will not only support grain storage but also meet an important need for legumes in Mersin, one of Turkey’s key centers,” he said.
After the speech, Yumaklı cut the ribbon to officially open the warehouses.