The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry announced that wheat imports reached $12.2 billion in the period of 2009-2018. The exports of the processed products, on the other hand, totaled $22.2 billion in the past decade.

According to the statement released by the Ministry, wheat imports amounted to $679 million in the first four months of this year, while the exports of the processed products reached $960 million in this period.

The statement further showed the annual wheat production in Turkey as between 20 million to 21 million tons and domestic consumption as 19 million tons, highlighting that Turkey was a self-sufficient country in wheat.

It was also reported that wheat import was allowed within the scope of the Inward Processing Relief (IPR) to meet the raw material needs of industrialists and to contribute to employment. Meanwhile, imported products were not offered to the domestic market but exported as processed finished products.

Turkey, which held a significant place in the world market in the export of wheat products, came first in the world in flour exports and second in pasta exports, doubling flour exports and seeing a six-fold increase in pasta exports in the last 10 years, the statement read.