Turkish state agency TMO has acquired two large shipments of barley and wheat, which have increased in price

At international tenders on November 24 and 25, the Turkish state operator TMO purchased 370 thousand tons of feed barley and 385 thousand tons of food wheat, although experts expected a temporary suspension of grain purchases by Turkey amid the collapse of the lira exchange rate.

The exchange rate of the Turkish lira against the dollar fell by 20% in three days, and in general by 70% since the beginning of the year to the level of 13 liras /ір, which was the most noticeable drop since the currency crisis of 2018. Since mid-2019, Turkish President Erdogan has replaced the head of the central bank three times. The last time this happened was in March, when the central bank raised the discount rate from 17% to 19%. The new head of the central bank in September lowered the rate to 18%, in October – to 16%, in November – to 15%, which was approved by the president. At the same time, economists warn that such steps increase inflation, which is already approaching 20%.

TMO agency purchased 370 thousand tons of feed barley at the tender on November 24 for delivery in January at an average price of C 354.08/ton CFR, which is 1 15.48/ton higher than the purchase price of the previous auction on October 25, and.38.7/ton higher than the tender price on October 8.

Lots of goods already in the country's warehouses could take part in the tender. Therefore, some Russian exporters delivered goods to Turkey in advance in order to avoid export restrictions and increase export duties.

At the tender on November 25, TMO agency purchased 385 thousand tons of food wheat with protein of 12.5-13.5% and delivery in January at a price of ex 376-387/ton EXW or 3 381.9-394.9/ton CFR, which is 4 49/ton EXW and.28.6/ton CFR higher than the purchase price of the previous tender dated October 21.

From September to the end of the year, Turkey reduced to zero the import duty on wheat, barley, rye, oats, corn, peas and lentils against the background of a reduction in its own production, which intensified the import of these crops. Purchases at TMO tenders are always preliminary and must be finalized within a few days.

As of November 24, Ukraine exported 4.88 million tons of barley in the current season, which is 32% ahead of last year's pace and already exceeds the total export volume of my 2020/21, which amounted to 4.23 million tons.