ANKARA, TURKEY — Turkey is expected to see a boost in corn and barley in the 2020-21 marketing year, according to the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Corn production in the 2020-21 marketing year is forecast to total 7.1 million tonnnes, a 1.1 million tonne increase compared with the previous year. The USDA attributes the jump in production to increased planted area. Corn imports for Turkey are anticipated to be 2.1 million tonnes for the 2020-21 marketing year. The USDA lowered its estimate due to a decreased demand following a record domestic production.

The country’s barley production is expected to increase due to high costs of pesticides and fertilizers used in the production of crops such as milling wheat. The USDA forecasts barley production in the 2020-21 marketing year to total 8.1 million tonnes, a slight increase of 200,000 tonnes compared with the previous year.

The USDA increased its barley import forecast to one million tonnes for the 2020-21 marketing year based on the Turkish government’s temporary tariff elimination for the private sector. After April 2021, the 35% duty on barley will be reinstated.

Wheat production for Turkey in the 2020-21 marketing year remains steady at 7.1 million tonnes. However, the USDA does suspect a future decrease in wheat production as alternative crops, orchard developments and increased vegetable production to reduce the amount of wheat planted. The USDA also cited rain as a potential issue for wheat production. According to a Turkish National Meteorological Service report the average rainfall in the last three months of 2020 in Turkey was 34% lower than during the same period in 2019.