Ahmet Güldal, General Manager of the Soil Products Office (TMO), made evaluations to AA correspondent regarding the activities of the institution on the occasion of the 86th anniversary of the establishment of TMO.
Stating that TMO is a deep-rooted institution like Anadolu Agency, Güldal said that in addition to the sector in which the institution serves being the producers, it has also undertaken many different tasks since its establishment.
“TMO is one of the institutions that know warehousing best in Turkey”
Güldal pointed out that the institution pioneered the establishment of grain, meat, milk and oil industries and said, “TMO pioneered the establishment of the Meat and Milk Institution, carried out activities in the field of warehousing, and is one of the institutions that knows warehousing best in Turkey.”
Güldal stated that the institution has reflected this experience in the development of licensed warehousing activities and that there is currently a licensed warehousing capacity of 11 million tons in the country.
Güldal pointed out that TMO has duties such as making market regulations regarding the products shipped to it, and said, “TMO has taken part in nearly 25 main products to date and has successfully fulfilled these duties.”
Güldal stated that the institution has always been the friend of farmers in its 86-year history and that it has the locations that producers know best before and after the harvest season, and that locations in cities are pronounced as “office districts” and many neighborhoods as “office neighborhoods”.
OVER 600 PURCHASE POINTS OPENED
Güldal, drawing attention to the fact that in recent years many countries around the world have experienced problems with food supply due to reasons such as epidemics, droughts and the Russia-Ukraine War, said, “There were no problems with products in the area of responsibility of TMO in Turkey. Precautions were taken during drought and war. Again, during the epidemic, TMO fulfilled its duty by working together with the sector through regulations.”
Underlining that the main duty of TMO is to step in and act in favor of producers when prices in cereals and pulses fall below normal, Güldal reported that the institution also regulates the market using various instruments when prices rise to the detriment of consumers.
Güldal emphasized that although this year was not as high-yielding as last year, they still had a very good production season and continued as follows:
“As you know, a grain harvest below last year is expected. TMO has supported our producers by opening over 600 purchasing points this year as well. As of today, we have almost passed the half of the harvest period, 2.5 million tons of product have been transferred to TMO’s stocks. It was announced that payments to our producers would be made within 45 days, but as of today, we are making payments to our producers in 25-30 day terms. There is satisfaction in this sense. When we look at the country in general, we see that the barley harvest is at 70 percent and the wheat harvest is at 60 percent.”
Güldal, who asked that rumors about the warehouses not be believed, reported that the institution stored and purchased 13.1 million tons of products during the harvest season last year.
Güldal reminded that there will be no problem with continuous storage as the harvest season begins this year and emphasized that preparations are being made for this, and said, “We said that licensed warehouses with a capacity of 4.5 million tons are ready and empty, 2.5 million tons of rental and TMO warehouses are kept ready and that we will continue to store in open piles in case of need, as we did last year, and that in this way, if 13 million tons of product are given to TMO, we can receive and store all of them.”
Güldal stated that this year there will not be as much product as last year and that there will be no problem in storing it.
“OUR APPOINTMENTS AND PICK-UP LOCATIONS ARE OPEN”
Güldal pointed out that there was an attempt to create a perception on social media that open piles were left to rot underground, and that this was absolutely wrong, and that open pile storage was a method that TMO had been using for a long time.
Güldal, who stated that the product loss here is the same as in normal warehouses, said, “In other words, it is at the level of 5 per thousand. This is due to the losses that will occur while filling or emptying. In other words, all precautions have been taken to prevent the product from spoiling or rotting.”
Güldal underlined that the appointment system was renewed and that there was no problem, and explained that they provided the opportunity to make an appointment both from the TMO website and from e-Government.
Güldal, who stated that the producers’ appointments are confirmed by SMS, shared the information, “If they want to cancel, they can easily cancel. Our appointments and pick-up points will be open until our last producer arrives.”
Güldal also asked producers not to market their products below the prices given by TMO, saying, “They should learn the prices in their own quality groups from TMO and not ask for a price below that from the market. Otherwise, TMO is ready to buy.”
