Erhan Özmen, Chairman of the Southeast Flour Industrialists' Association (GUSAD), demanded that the flour industry be excluded from the incentive sector in Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia regions under the investment incentive package of the ministry.

Stating that half of the Turkey’s flour export is being carried out by the Southeastern Anatolia Region, in particular the province of Gaziantep, Erhan Özmen, Chairman of the Southeast Flour Industrialists' Association (GUSAD) said that the flour sector in these two regions must be excluded. Expressing that the investment incentive package announced by the Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım for the Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia Regions includes 23 provinces, Erhan Özmen specified that "within 23 provinces, the flour industry has an installed capacity of 7.5 million tons. 80 companies are active; 30 companies are not working in this region in anyway. The flour industry in this region must not be included in the incentive package. Because a flour factory to be established here will not provide employment, nor will it bring a new perspective to the sector. Other successful sectors need incentives".

IDLE WHEAT WORKING CAPACITY 17 MILLION TONS Stating that the wheat processing capacity in Turkey is 40 million tons, Özmen said that the wheat usage capacity is around 23 million tons and the idle capacity is 17 million tons. Expressing that there are 710 installed flour factories in Turkey, Özmen added that "476 of 710 factories are active; if we think that 234 ones are passive, we see that an estimated 10 million tons of 40 million tons are closed here. There are those who are trying to get out of the sector or giving up the industry or working seasonally or closing down. The 23 million tons of the wheat usage capacity are shared among the 476 firms with higher capacity. With 476 companies, the sector continues its life with a capacity utilization rate of 75-80 percent".

710 INSTALLED FACTORIES TO BE REGISTERED Pointing out that there is a need for a policy related to the flour industry, Özmen added that "There is a flour industry in Turkey that cannot be monopolized, but 710 installed factories must be licensed. If a new factory is to be established, first it must have a project and then it must proceed by purchasing the licenses of the passive or active firms. As the sector, we must relate this to the state as soon as possible".

YEAR-END TARGET IN EXPORT 3.5 MILLION TONS Stating that Turkey has ranked first in the flour export for the last 6-7 years and the Turkish flour industrialist carried out 25% of the global flour export with 2 million 800 thousand tons, Erhan Özmen added that "We have the year-end target for this year is 3.5 million tons. It is a positive development for us that 50 percent of this figure is from the Southeastern Anatolia Region. We anticipate that exports to the Far East, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and neighboring countries will continue to increase".