‘There should be a price ceiling in markets’

Şemsi Bayraktar, Chairman of the Union of Chambers of Agriculture of Turkey (TZOB), said, “World Pulses Day” Therefore, in his statement, he said that legumes are an important source of protein for more than 2 billion people in the world.

Stating that legumes are a product group with a total foreign trade value of 30.6 billion dollars, Bayraktar said that India ranks first with a share of 28.8 percent in legume production in the world, while Turkey has a share of around 1.3 percent in this production. He reported that he received it.

Bayraktar, who informed that the most produced legumes in Turkey are chickpeas, dry beans and lentils, drew attention to the decrease in cultivation areas.

Pointing out that this caused a 34.8 percent decline in production, Bayraktar said, “With the initiatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, 2016 was declared as the ‘International Year of Pulses’ by FAO. After this year, although efforts were made to increase the cultivation area in legumes, the desired level could not be reached in certain products. “Currently, the production gap is 49 percent in green lentils and 43 percent in red lentils.” he said.

THE WAY BETWEEN THE PRODUCER AND THE CONSUMER IS OPENING

Emphasizing that the production of legumes, which are alternative protein sources, should be increased and imports should be abandoned, Bayraktar said that it is important to close the gap between the producer and the consumer so that consumers can access cheap food. Bayraktar continued: “In our last study, it is seen that this gap is open in legumes as well. Red lentils, which are 17.5 liras in the producer, are reduced to 47 liras, chickpeas, which are 29.5 liras, are reduced to 76 liras, dried beans, which are 29 liras, are reduced to 85 liras, and green beans, which are 26 liras, are reduced to 85 liras.” “Lentils are sold in the market for 64 lira. Legal regulations should be made for such basic food products, and a ceiling price should be introduced in the markets.”

“SEED SUPPORT MUST CONTINUE INCREASING”

Expressing that the premium support given to legumes should be increased, Bayraktar said: “Increasing the production of legumes will first make our country self-sufficient and then an exporter country. For this reason, legumes should be included in the priority product group in production planning. Premium support for legumes is given as 50 kuruş per kilo. The support is suitable for its purpose.” It should be increased according to current conditions. The way to ensure our country’s supply security and continuity of production in legumes is to create a price that will satisfy the producer in the market. For this reason, legumes should not be imported close to the harvest period and the balance of the market should not be disrupted. The production practice in fallow areas, which was implemented in previous years, should be restarted, certified seed “It is necessary to expand its use and increase seed support.”