Turkish companies eye flour mills in PH

Turkish flour companies are planning to build flour mills in the Philippines in the belief that their presence could help establish a more competitive industry in the country.

“Turkey has a significant know-how in both flour milling and in flour-based products. Our business people are quite entrepreneurial. Also, the Philippine market is growing strongly and we see that wheat consumption will continue to increase. The Philippines needs more flour mills in order to have a free and competitive industry so there are great opportunities to invest in the Philippine milling industry,” said Turgay Ünlü, chair of the Turkish Flour, Yeast and Ingredients Promotion Group (TFYI).

“Another thing is that the bread know-how is mainly one sided and supplied by the US, which does not represent the latest developments in the global bread industry. The Turkish flour millers would love the opportunity to introduce new bread products from Europe, Turkey and the Middle East to the Philippine market,” Ünlü said in an interview with the Inquirer.

The interest to put up flour-milling facilities in the Philippines was made known amid the dumping allegations slapped on imported Turkish flour.

The Department of Agriculture recommended in April this year the imposition of a provisional duty of 35 percent on hard flour, 39.26 percent on biscuit bread and 35.21 percent on soft flour. These duties, which will be imposed on top of the existing 7-percent import duty on flour, will be in effect over the next four months while the Tariff Commission determines whether these rates should be made permanent. Amy R. Remo