U.S. Wheat Associates

Wheat production in 2016-17 is now forecast at 17.25 million tonnes, down from 19.5 million tonnes in 2015-16.

 
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S. — Serious drought in Central Anatolia, and low yield in general, has led to a reduction in the forecast for wheat production for the 2016-17 marketing year in Turkey, according to a Sept. 29 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN).

The GAIN report noted that wheat production in 2016-17 is now forecast at 17.25 million tonnes, down from production of 19.5 million tonnes in 2015-16.

“Although wheat production increased in 2015-16, wheat products export was the driving factor of wheat imports,” the GAIN report said. “Turkey imported about 4 million tonnes of wheat in 2015-16. Russia was the leading supplier with 2.9 million tonnes, followed by Lithuania (422,726 tonnes) and Canada (168,046 tonnes). Turkey imported 500,000 tonnes of wheat during the first two months of 2016-17.”

For 2016-17, wheat imports into Turkey were forecast at 5 million tonnes, reflecting strong demand for high quality wheat from flour and pasta exporters.

Total corn production, meanwhile, was forecast at 5.5 million tonnes for 2016-17, down from 6.2 million tonnes in 2015-16.

“Except for Central Anatolia, planting area decreased due to high returns for cotton, vegetables and oilseeds,” the GAIN report noted. “Disappointment for farmers on second crop corn returns last year was another reason. This will lead to a decrease in the area planted to corn in 2016-17. Irrigated wheat land will be a luxury for most of Turkey but corn will gain irrigated land especially in Central Anatolia. Early planting, air temperatures and moisture in Cukurova were higher than normal during summer, which was caused harvest to start 2 weeks early.”

In terms of trade, the GAIN report indicated that only 560,000 tonnes of corn were imported during the 11 months of 2015-16, slowed by a record harvest and a slowdown in poultry exports.

Rice production for 2016-17 was forecast at 746,000 tonnes, unchanged from last year, the GAIN said.“Rice planting area is similar with the last year due to favorable weather conditions during spring,” the GAIN said. “Planting area increased about 1,200 hectares in Gonen and Manyas compared to last year, which compensated for a similar decrease in other parts of Turkey.”

For the full report click here.