Turkey 'world's top flour exporter', says minister

By Ayse Yildiz and Ugur Aslanhan

TURKEY, Antalya

Turkey is the world's number one flour exporter and among top two pasta exporters of the world, Turkish Food, Agriculture and Livestock minister said on Friday.

Addressing the Turkish Flour Industrialists' Federation (TUSAF) International Congress and Exhibition held in the resort city Antalya, Ahmet Esref Fakibaba said Turkey exports flour and bulgur to 120 countries and pasta to 150 countries.

Fakibaba said global grain production had been at record high levels in the last five years.

Turkey is a grain hub and the world's grain trade in the last 15 years has turned the country around, Fakibaba said.

He also said when the Kars-Tblisi-Baku Railway Project become operational, it would strengthen the country's position as a grain hub.

"The project will also make Turkey an important centre in terms of international commodity exchange," Fakibaba said.

The Kars-Tblisi-Baku Railway Project is a regional rail project linking Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan. It is expected to increase the flow of containers and other types of cargo from Asia to Europe.

Customs and Trade Minister Bulent Tufenkci also said global wheat price will be set in Turkey, not in America, on the back of a commodity exchange, which will be launched within a month.

"We will create a market which has a depth, especially in agricultural trade after introducing the commodity exchange," Tufenkci said.