BBM Magazine Issue-Sayı: 58 November - Kasım 2022

38 INTERVIEW • RÖPORTAJ BBM / KASIM 2022 • NOVEMBER 2022 Together with TMO, we managed this troublesome process very well. We, as TFIF, mobilized all the means we can with all our members, supported this step of our government, and worked on behalf of our industry in the fight against inflation. Whenever our government requested, we really showed the power of the sector in some sense. In addition to the support of the Turkish Grain Board, we, the industry, also made some stockpiling. As you know, licensed warehousing is developing in our country. We know that our farmers also have wheat in these warehouses. Thankfully, the 2022 harvest season came with abundance and was very pro- ductive in all our regions. I do not foresee any shortages in wheat supply in the 2022-2023 season. The Grain Corridor Deal, signed under the mediation of Türkiye, is regarded as the hope of overcoming the problems in grain supply. Why is this deal important for world food se- curity? Could you evaluate the importance of the deal for the world and Türkiye? The war between Russia and Ukraine, which is described as the breadbaskets of the world, unsettled many sectors, especial- ly us, as one of the most important sections of the food industry. In this process, the concern we experienced in reaching wheat, the main raw material of our industry, reminded us that food security and food safety are not theoretical concepts, but mean global food deprivation and the subsequent food infla- tion crisis. Thankfully, we successfully passed this test with the Grain Corridor Deal signed in July under the auspices of Presi- dent Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Although the grain corridor provided some relief in prices, it has not provided a privileged price for our country for the time being. No discount applies to us. Turkish flour industrial- ists buy at the same price as the world. We, flour industrialists, got a chance to sell flour to the world at affordable prices. We expect to see the reflections of this great effort and energy provided by Türkiye. But the most important point here is the contribution of this deal to humanity. Our President has really brought a different per- spective here. In particular, bringing Russia and Ukraine together around the same table and getting such a good result from there not only revealed the power and importance of our country in the world but also presented a very important opportunity for world food security. The world has obtained the opportunity to access staple foods at affordable prices. I see this as a service we offered to the world. In this context, I do not look at it as a Turkish flour industrialist, but as a global flour industrialist and a human being. You are the third-generation manager of Tezcan Un. Can you tell us about the change and transformation that your company and the industry have gone through? regüslasyonuna TUSAF olarak tüm üyelerimizle elimizden gelen tüm imkanları seferber edip, devletimizi bu adımını destekledik ve enflasyonla mücadelede sektörümüz adına çalışmalarımızı yaptık. Devletimiz her istediğinde, gerçekten sektörün gücünü bir anlamda göstermiş olduk. Toprak Mahsulleri Ofisi’nin desteklerinin yanında sektör olarak biz de bir miktar stok yaptık. Biliyorsunuz lisanslı de- poculuk da ülkemiz de gelişiyor. Bu depolarda çiftçilerimizin elinde de buğday olduğunu biliyoruz. Çok şükür ki 2022 hasat sezonu bereketiyle geldi ve tüm bölgelerimizde ol- dukça verimli geçti. 2022-2023 sezonunda buğday arzında herhangi bir şekilde sıkıntı yaşamayacağımızı öngörüyorum. Türkiye’nin arabuluculuğunda imzalanan Tahıl Koridoru Anlaşması, tahıl arzındaki sıkıntıların aşılması için umut olarak görülüyor. Bu anlaşma, dünya gıda güvencesi açı- sından neden önemli? Anlaşmanın dünya ve Türkiye için önemini değerlendirir misiniz? Dünyanın tahıl ambarı olarak nitelendirilen Rusya ile Ukrayna arasında yaşanan savaş, gıda sanayinin en önemli parçalarından biri olarak bizleri başta olmak üzere birçok sektörü tedirgin etti. Bu süreçte sanayimizin hammaddesi olan buğdaya ulaşma- da yaşadığımız endişe bizlere gıda güvencesi ve gıda güven-