The sunflower producer is trying to protect its crop from meadow caterpillars, while waiting for the purchase prices to be announced.
Due to the increase in the exchange rate, the sunflower producer could not apply enough pesticides to his field. Manufacturers, who have been through a thousand and one troubles this year, are concerned about product loss due to high air temperatures.
Speaking to the Milli Gazete, Erdoğan Yanılmaz, Edirne Provincial Representative of the Chamber of Agricultural Engineers affiliated to the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB), made remarkable evaluations.
“WE CAN'T SUPPORT OURSELF IN SUNFLOWER PRODUCTION”
Indicating that the supports to the sunflower producers should be made on time, Yanılmaz said, "We are not self-sufficient in sunflower production. We have an average of 3 million 100 thousand tons of sunflower consumption in our country. Turkey's self-sufficiency rate in sunflower, which was 78 percent in 2015, has now dropped to 60 percent. Maybe this year it will drop to 57 percent. The government should make an effort to increase the cultivation areas and support the farmers and determine their product policies accordingly. We have been saying it on every platform as a chamber for years. Support should be given on time and on time. Supports should be given at a level that will satisfy the farmer. Our current expectation is 15 TL per kilogram plus 2 TL support premium. There is a worldwide oil crisis, especially in sunflower. The whole world was adversely affected by the Ukraine-Russia War. The Grain Corridor is opened. In this regard, it seems that it may not be in the interest of our country at the moment. There was no drop in prices. On the contrary, it shows an upward trend in wheat."
“I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THE CROP WILL ACHIEVE THE LEVEL PRESENTED BY THE MINISTRY”
Saying that there may be a decrease in yield due to the meadow caterpillar invasion and increasing air temperatures, "The Ministry of Agriculture shared with the public that it predicted a yield of 2 million 550 thousand tons with an increase of 6 percent. However, I do not think that the crop will reach the level predicted by the ministry due to this meadow caterpillar and increasing air temperatures in our region at the moment. It seems that if the temperatures continue like this, it will both cause losses in the product and cause the harvest to start a little earlier," he added.
“INCREATION IN THE DOLLAR REFLECTED NEGATIVELY ON FERTILIZER PRICES”
Stating that the increase in foreign exchange affects fertilizer prices negatively, "In particular, the increase in the dollar had a negative impact on fertilizer prices. Although fertilizer prices have decreased relatively little at the moment, for example, '20.20 base fertilizer' to be planted in October is currently around 10.50-11 TL in the market. '18.46 DAP fertilizer' costs between 13.50 TL and 14 TL. Fertilizer, which we call '15.15.15', is currently around 11.50 TL and 12 TL in the market. At the moment, prices are showing an upward trend again," he said.