Turkey Rice Imports Forecast to Increase 17% in 2013-14

Turkey’s rice imports are expected to increase to around 350,000 tons in the MY 2013-14 (September to August), up almost 17% from an estimated 300,000 tons in MY 2012-13, according to the USDA Post in Ankara. Turkey’s rice imports started rising in the third quarter of 2012 and are expected to increase in the coming few months, said the Post.
Rice farmers in Turkey are facing difficulties in marketing and low profitability in rice farming compared to barley, sunflower, corn and sugar beet. Rice acreage is estimated to decline to around 98,000 hectares in MY 2013-14 (September to August), down about 5% from around 103,000 hectares in the previous year. As a result, rice production is estimated to decline to around 470,000 tons in MY 2013-14, the lowest in three years and which reduces the rice-sufficiency of the country to 63%, down from 64% in 2012-13 and 67% in 2011-12. Rice consumption in Turkey is mostly unchanged in the last few years at around 750,000 tons per year.
The Post says that the feed industry is growing very fast in Turkey and this is making corn farming more attractive than rice or wheat, both grains being considered luxuries and not staple by the government.