ISTANBUL, TURKEY — Turkey has lowered tariffs on some grain imports, including wheat, barley, and corn, to zero through April 30, 2021, Reuters reported on Dec. 17.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan approved the measure to lower the tariff, which had stood at 20%, the report said. The measure requires the imported materials be used for production.

Turkey is the world’s largest flour exporter and last year imported nearly 11 million tonnes of wheat.

An extended drought has raised concerns about Turkey’s grain crops for the 2020-21 marketing year as farmers have reported difficulty planting in the extremely dry soil.

However, the latest forecast from the US Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service still projects wheat, corn and barley production to rise in 2020-21 over the previous year and for exports to decline.