Turkiye's wheat production reaches 21.5 million tons

"With the regular rains in March and the following months, the grain yield was above the average for many years. 21.5 million tons of wheat were obtained throughout the country. We reached a figure of 9 million tons in barley, which we have never achieved before," Özkan Taşpınar, President of the National Grain Council says...

In a remarkable turn of events, Turkiye’s wheat production skyrocketed to an impressive 21.5 million tons. This surge was largely accredited to increased rainfall in the spring, which significantly boosted grain yields. Additionally, another 9 million tons of barley was harvested countrywide. 

The National Grains Council (UHK) confirmed that both the wheat and barley outputs were on par with their projections.

Özkan Taşpınar, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Grain Council (UHK), said that rainfall in the spring months increased the grain yield.

Taşpınar stated to the AA correspondent that the grain harvest season has come to an end and the wheat and barley yields meet the expectations.

Taşpınar stated that the droughts that occurred towards the end of last year and continued in the first months of this year are worrying.

"These droughts were recorded as the second dry winter in the last 63 years. With the regular rains in March and the following months, the grain yield was above the long-term average and 21.5 million tons of wheat were obtained throughout the country," he said.

There were concerns of potential drought which lingered from the tail end of the previous year and persisted into the first months of the current one. The general apprehension was due to the fact that this drought was dubbed as the second-worst dry winter of the past 63 years. However, regular rainfall from March onwards ameliorated these conditions leading to a grain yield that surpassed the many-year average. A total of 21.5 million tons of wheat was harvested across the country as a result.

While the rainfall had generally beneficial effects, it was not without negative effects. It was reported that regions which received an excess of spring rainfall were exposed to diseases. Although this led to minor decreases in quality, the overall impact was relatively inconsequential.

An impressive achievement highlighted in this year’s harvest season was the record-breaking barley yield. Turkiye attained a peak result of 9 million tons, thus exceeding all previous averages. The average yield had been estimated to be around 20 million tons for wheat and 8 million tons for barley.