Turkiye Embassy responds to Daily FT article

The Embassy of the Republic of Turkiye has sent the following statement in response to the article titled “Sri Lanka suffers consequences due to flour dumping export strategies” published in the Daily FT of 11 August 2023 (see https://www.ft.lk/opinion/Sri-Lanka-suffers-consequences-due-to-flour-dumping-export-strategies/14-751678)

With regard to the latest article published by Sri Lankan media agencies concerning Turkish wheat flour in the local market, the Turkish Embassy in Colombo deems it necessary to share certain facts about the exports of the aforementioned product.

Contrary to the claims of the Sri Lankan media, the Embassy wishes to clarify that the Government of Turkiye does not subsidise wheat flour exports. The export prices of the product, along with any price variations, are determined by local and global demand, supply factors as well as fluctuations in international shipping costs. In this context, Turkiye’s extensive efforts to broker the grain deal between Ukraine and the Russian Federation over the past year and her positive contribution to global food security will be remembered.

Furthermore, Turkiye has been a dependable wheat flour supplier to global markets for a considerable period. The prevalence of Turkish wheat flour in the global food chain is not a recent development.

According to international trade figures, the share of Turkish wheat flour in global wheat flour exports ranged from 19.5% to 23.2% over the past five years. Turkiye has led the global wheat flour export market by a significant margin. Additionally, Turkish wheat flour exports made up 4% of Sri Lanka’s total imports in 2022.

The Embassy wishes to emphasise that, while Turkish wheat flour reaches consumers in numerous countries worldwide, the Government of Turkiye has not received any complaints concerning the quality or safety of the product to date.