TÜRİB to Launch International Commodity Market
· GıdaTarım
TÜRİB is preparing to launch its International Commodity Market within 1-2 months, where products in port warehouses will be traded in foreign currency, while licensed warehouse capacity has reached 15.2 million tons.
TÜRİB Reaches Record Trading Volume
Speaking at a meeting of the Association of Agricultural Journalists and Writers, TÜRİB General Manager Ali Kırali announced that the total trading volume on the Electronic Warehouse Receipt (EWR) market has reached 475 billion lira since the exchange became operational. Stating that the total traded quantity was 64.5 million tons, Kırali announced that 1.7 million buy-sell transactions have been recorded on the platform to date. According to TÜRİB data, wheat ranks first in the exchange's trading distribution with 57%, followed by corn with 32%, barley with 8%, and sunflower seeds with 1%.
Capacity Increase Continues in Licensed Warehouses
Reminding that approximately 37 million tons of grain are produced annually in Turkey based on the last five-year average, TÜRİB General Manager Ali Kırali reported that the licensed storage capacity has reached a level that can meet 41% of the total harvest. Kırali noted that the licensed warehouse capacity, which was 4 million tons in 2019, is approaching 15.2 million tons, and emphasized that their goal is to reach 20 million tons within 2-3 years and to conduct half of domestic agricultural trade through the exchange.
Futures Market to Launch by Year-End
Ali Kırali stated that work on the Futures Market is ongoing to ensure forward price formation, agricultural insurance, and effective risk management in the agricultural sector, announcing that the infrastructure will be operational by the end of the year. According to Kırali's statement, the system will include physically delivered contracts based on bread wheat and corn EWRs, as well as cash-settled contracts based on price indices. It was stated that all real and legal persons will be able to trade these contracts, just as in the spot market.
International Commodity Market to Become Operational
TÜRİB General Manager Ali Kırali, aiming to make Turkey a regional agricultural trade hub, made the following statement:
"Alongside our national market, we have completed the software for a new International Commodity Market Project to enable products in warehouses under the control of the Ministry of Trade at our country's ports to be traded, and we will launch this market within 1-2 months by pressing the button."
Kırali stated that non-nationalized imported goods in port warehouses will be traded in dollars and euros, and that the new mechanism will provide transparency in trade.
Supply Chains and Production Balance
Prof. Dr. Aykut Gül, Member of the Presidential Agricultural and Food Policies Council, stated that the expected abundance in plant production needs to be managed well, saying:
"If you cannot deliver what you produce to the people who need it, there is a big problem here. While all major states in the world are closing roads, we, as Turkey, are opening roads."
Prof. Dr. Gül noted that storage systems and market mechanisms play a strategic role in protecting both the producer and the consumer.
Role of Women Farmers in Agricultural Production
Speaking at the event, Ayşegül Selışık, Assistant FAO Representative in Turkey, drew attention to the position of women in the sector, stating:
"Women farmers are present everywhere in agricultural production. They are in the field, trading alongside their husbands. Women are at the center of the global agri-food system."
Selışık provided information that 36% of women worldwide work in the agri-food system. Işılay Reis Yorgun, Member of the TOBB Women Entrepreneurs Board, stated that women constitute 70% of the 2 million family farmers in Turkey, while the proportion of women registered in the Farmer Registration System (ÇKS) remains at 13.3%.