Business

Minister of Commerce solved the poppy seed congestion in the Indian market

Mustafa Terci, President of Aegean Cereals, Pulses, Oilseeds and Products Exporters’ Association, stated that they received a promise of support from the Minister of Commerce, Dr. Mehmet Mus, in order to eliminate the congestion in the Indian market, which is the largest export market in poppy seed exports, one of the traditional export products of the Aegean Region.

Explaining that they visited the Minister of Commerce, Dr. Mehmet Mus, Terci said that Minister Mus was very interested in the issue and that he would meet with his Indian counterpart if necessary, to solve the problem.

Speaking at the Ordinary General Assembly Meeting of the Aegean Cereals, Pulses, Oil Seeds and Products Exporters’ Association, which was held at the Aegean Exporters’ Associations, Terci reminded that with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Governments of Turkey and India on March 1, 2019, poppy seed exports from Turkey to India were moved to the online system. Terci said, “The first application was made in 2019 and we achieved an export income of $63 million by using almost all of the 18 thousand tons of import permits granted to our country. After this date, our exports entered the intermittent process originating from the Government of India. We conveyed our request to our Minister of Commerce, Dr. Mehmet Mus, to make immediate high-level contacts with the Ministry of Finance of the Government of India, so that the new season will start in July 2021, and therefore our exports will resume uninterruptedly, taking into account the 2-season harvest. They paid close attention. They stated that they would meet with their Indian counterpart if necessary. Before the 2021 harvest, we are at a point where we can export 18-20 thousand tons of poppy seeds and earn around $65-70 million in foreign currency to our country, if the problem regarding the import permit amount that has not been specified by the Indian Government for the 2020 season is resolved immediately. We would like to thank our Minister of Commerce, Dr. Mehmet Mus, for his close interest.”

WE ARE EXPECTING 10% INCREASE

Pointing out that Turkey’s cereals, pulses, oilseeds sector exported $7 billion 299 million in 2020, President Terci concluded his words as follows: “In 2020, we exported $505 million from the Aegean Region with an increase of 14%. While our vegetable oil exporters made the biggest contribution to our Union’s exports in 2020, with an amount of $260 million, our chocolate confectionery exports were $40 million and our oilseeds exports were $38 million. Our spice exports amounted to $29 million, and products made from cereals corresponded to $27 million. We are working to bring $550 million of export income to our country with a 10% increase in exports in 2021. In the January-May period of 2021, we increased our exports by 8% from $217 million to $235 million. We believe that if we overcome the bottleneck in poppy seed exports to India, we can easily reach our goal of $550 million.”

While the 2021 work program of the Aegean Cereals, Pulses, Oilseeds and Products Exporters’ Association was accepted at the general assembly, the 2021 budget of the Union was adopted as ₺5 million 350 thousand.

Source: Sabah / Translated by Irem Yildiz

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