TURKEY (11 February)
Early prospects for the 2004/05 wheat and barley crops, normally planted between September and November, have improved with recent heavy rain and snowfall. The 2004 wheat production, harvested last summer, is estimated at 20.5 million tonnes. At this level, it is nearly 1 million tonnes higher than in 2003 and about 5 percent above the average for the previous five years. Similarly, the 2004 output of coarse grains (mostly barley and maize) increased by about 600 000 tonnes to 11.3 million tonnes. Paddy production in 2004 is estimated at 400 000 tonnes about 7 percent higher than the previous year.
Wheat imports in 2004/05 (July/June) are forecast at 800 000 tonnes compared with 1.2 million tonnes estimated for the previous year. Maize imports are also forecast to decrease by nearly 300 000 tonnes to 800 000 tonnes. According to the 2005 Tariff Schedule, most import duty rates remained the same as last year’s rates. However, some duty rates, including for wheat, maize and sorghum were raised in 2005.