Namık Kemal PARLAK Editor

Turkey is close to Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, the world’s largest grain exporters. And in the south of Turkey, the Middle East and Gulf countries which are the largest grain and food importers are located. Turkey, with an improved agricultural market, is aiming to become the epicenter in agriculture using its geographical location advantages. The country took an important step towards this goal in July. Turkish Mercantile Exchange, which has been prepared for a long time, was put into operation by the end of July. Minister of Commerce Ruhsar Pekcan is expressing this significant development saying that “This is a very important day for agricultural trade”.

So, why is Turkish Mercantile Exchange that important? Because with the implementation of this system, particularly the cereal producers, farmers, and agricultural companies will be able to sell their products in licensed warehouses through electronic bills. They will be able to use loans by showing these electronic bills to banks. Therefore, they will be able to store them at low prices and sell them at a better price in the future.

Along the same line, traders will also be able to store their products in licensed warehouses without having to build a new warehouse. When they want to sell, they will be able to sell their products through specialized product exchanges. Mobile applications for these transactions will also become a part of the activity. The goal is to sell these products also on international exchanges.

Another important step in the direction of Turkey’s goal of becoming the epicenter of agriculture is the dissemination of licensed warehouses. Well then, what is Turkey’s position in this regard? Licensed warehouse capacity has reached 4 million 77 thousand tons. The target is to surpass 14 million tons.