Tuba Memis on the 2023 harvest/
“Turkish red lentils will be the most competitive in the domestic market”

Thanks for coming back to chat with the GPC, Tuba! How has the last year been for Memisoglu and the TAT brand?

Every year our company continues to grow – last year we increased our sales and grew 45%. There are challenges and opportunities in our sector, but the success of Memisoglu is in being able to see the opportunities and challenges early and position ourselves for them. 

Having experience in the sector helps us adapt easily. For example, last year, the war between Russia and Ukraine affected our market a lot through the increase of commodity prices. In spite of these difficulties, we have protected our customers by purchasing raw materials at the right time and at the right price, offering competitive prices both domestically and in exports.

There were also restrictions on pulse exports last year in Turkey, but we still managed to increase our export and transit trade volume. Our reliability, experience and brand power allows us to turn these kinds of problems to our advantage.

Turkey’s pulse production has also started to increase in the last five years, with farmers becoming more interested in chickpeas and lentils, in particular. I think Turkey will continue to be the world's largest exporter of pulses, with our company as one of its biggest players.

What is your understanding of the Russian pulse market this year? Can you tell us how trade patterns have changed since the war?

The war has affected Russian companies' trade patterns – the restrictions on the trade of Russian products affects demand for their products. Russia is a big player in yellow peas and chickpeas, and for Russian chickpeas there is an increasing demand year-on-year as their variety is the cheapest Kabuli chickpea in the world.

Working directly with Russia can cause problems for many countries, so some of them around Europe, and Pakistan, prefer to buy Russian products through Turkish companies. This is, of course, an advantage for Turkey's trade and exports. Pulse production is increasing every year in Russia, so they will continue to be one of the world's largest players.

Due to the decreasing grain commodity prices this year, Russian farmers have increased pulse acreage. They start harvesting peas in July/August and chickpeas and lentils in August/September, and provided there is no problem with quality or yield, we expect a good harvest.

Let's talk about the upcoming harvest in Turkey – can you give us an update on how it’s going?

The acreage for Turkish pulses such as red/green lentils and chickpeas has increased this year, and everything seems good so far. This means Turkey seems likely to be the main origin for world chickpea exports this year.

The red lentil harvest began at the beginning of June, and we’re expecting a 30% higher production than last year – approximately 360,000-400,000 metric tons. The good production and a strong US dollar exchange rate will increase the cost of imported lentils in the domestic market and reduce the chance of competition with Turkish lentils. In other words, it seems we will only consume Turkish red lentils in our domestic market this year.

As for chickpeas, planting and production was low in Turkey last year, which is why we imported from Canada and the USA. Acreage has increased by 20% this and harvesting has already begun – so far*, 6-7% of the area has been covered. Information we have received from the harvested regions suggest a yield 30% higher than last year at around 180 kg per acre (0.445 MT/ha), with very good quality.

The first week of August is the beginning of the central Anatolian harvest – this is where 90% of chickpeas are planted. We expect a crop of around 300,000 MT this year, leaving us 150,000 MT for export. Last year's low production of chickpeas meant the chickpea import tax was abolished until 30 June 2023. Restrictions were also placed on chickpea exports in 2022, meaning each company had a quota that prevented them from selling more than they had the same month in 2021. Given the expectations for a good chickpea crop this year, we expect the limitations on chickpea exports to be abolished with the help of our exporters Union.

We do expect a slight increase in green lentil production and a slight decrease in bean production this year, but Turkey is not a big player in exporting either of these products.

*as of the 13th July

“Given the expectations for a good chickpea crop this year, we expect the limitations on chickpea exports to be abolished with the help of our exporters Union.”

Could you elaborate on how lentil import/export between Turkey and Canada will be different this year?

Our domestic market prefers Turkish lentils and our prices are currently more competitive than Canada’s. If Canadian prices become more competitive with Turkish ones, we may continue to purchase Canadian lentils for export, but I don't think we'll reach last year's record levels of 675,000 MT.

Reports say that Canada will plant fewer red lentils this year and have lower end stocks. Demand for Canadian lentils from India will continue. Turkey has a two month Canadian lentil stock, but currently, Canadian lentil prices are high for Turkish buyers given that Turkish origin lentils are at a better price. However, if demand for red lentils increases when the new crops begin in September and the Canadian price comes to workable levels for our market, we will start to buy from Canada again.

How about exports into Europe? Will there be changes this year?

I think Europe will get most of its demand for chickpeas and lentils from Turkey this year, but there is an inflation problem around Europe. If this doesn't decrease demand too much, I think Europe will buy from Turkey as they prefer the quality, prices and fast loading/short transit times of Turkish companies.

Let's talk about Turkey's financial situation. Inflation continues to rise and interest rates are up to 17.5% – could this cause issues with Turkey's foreign exchange reserves in the future? 

In terms of production, industrial capacity, and export potential, Turkey is a strong country. Our government aims to reduce inflation in the domestic market and increase the purchasing power of Turkish people.

After the pandemic, every country around the world has faced the same problem: inflation. Our expectation of good harvests in all Turkish agricultural products this year combined with its strong dollar advantage will help increase exports and reduce imports. Turkey also does not have a problem with dollar reserves that could affect trade.

How have foreign exchange reserve issues in other countries around the world affected Turkey's export trade?

Some of our main export countries have issues with exchange reserves, such as Egypt, Pakistan, Lebanon, and Sri Lanka. We continue to work with these countries, but it of course affects trade volume. The situations in those countries are better now and will hopefully resolve their issues this year.

Tell me about your plans for the year ahead at Memisoglu Tarim – what are your expectations and goals for 2023/24?

We expect the 2023/24 season to be a very good year for our company’s pulse exports. We will continue to increase our sales by investing in the pulse and wider food sector, focusing on new markets, as well as improving sales in our existing ones.

50% of our capacity is taken up by the domestic market and 50% is for export. Currently, our R&D investigations continue, and we're planning to increase our market further by adding new products to our range. Our TAT products are one of the biggest branded products in the Turkish pulse sector and we are going to continue expanding our brand out into the global market.

We've already become one of the largest pulse plants in the world by increasing our production capacity with a $30 million investment in the 2021/22 season. This year we will make new investments, developing new products in food and pulses on the new 40,000 m² lot of land we've recently purchased.