GÜBRETAŞ, which continued its operational activities at an increasing pace in order to ensure agricultural production in Turkey without disruption in order to ensure food supply security during the epidemic period, made a PDP statement reassuring farmers about fertilizer supply in March, when the Covid-19 epidemic entered Turkey's agenda. In its statement on March 20, 2020, GÜBRETAŞ stated that they would continue to provide all kinds of chemical fertilizers needed by farmers, by taking all necessary actions as the industry leader, in order to avoid any problems with the supply of chemical fertilizers, which is one of the most important inputs for increasing productivity in agriculture, during the epidemic period.

Successfully fulfilling its promise to farmers, GÜBRETAŞ completed 2020 with new records in the company's history by increasing both its production and sales during the spring and autumn periods when agricultural activities intensified. GÜBRETAŞ, which produced a total of 687 thousand tons of solid, liquid and powder fertilizer in its Turkey operations last year; While it increased its market share with sales of over 2 million tons in all product groups, it achieved the success of meeting one-third of the fertilizer consumption in our country on its own.

“WE FULFILLED THE RESPONSIBILITY WE UNDERTAKEN DURING THE DIFFICULT PERIOD”

GÜBRETAŞ General Manager İbrahim Yumaklı said, "2020 has been a different and challenging year for the whole world, especially due to Covid-19. In this period when new normals have emerged in many areas, ensuring food safety and continuing to meet nutritional needs without interruption, as well as protecting human health, have become even more important. This process once again showed how critical sustainability in agricultural production is for our country and humanity. "As GÜBRETAŞ, thanks to the strong cooperation we have established with our main shareholder, Agricultural Credit Cooperatives, we have successfully fulfilled our responsibility in this difficult period and we will continue to do so in the new year," he said.

Reminding that, in addition to market leadership, the company continued to provide conscious agriculture dissemination and agricultural consultancy services to producers uninterruptedly during the epidemic period, İbrahim Yumaklı said, "We continued to meet both the plant nutrition product and information support needs of producers in the agricultural sector at an increasing pace. In this way, we exceeded the 2 million tons threshold for the first time by increasing our chemical fertilizer sales amount by 21 percent in 2020 compared to the previous year. In addition to domestic sales, we also broke the company's historical record in exports with an increase of over 40% compared to last year, and we managed to contribute more foreign currency to the national economy. On the other hand, information requests from producers to our agricultural consultancy channels increased threefold. "We continued our model field studies successfully this term," he said.

“WE STAND BY OUR PROMISE IN THE NEW YEAR WHICH WE STARTED WITH HOPE”

Emphasizing that an average of 6 million tons of chemical fertilizer is consumed annually in our country, General Manager Yumaklı said, "During the global epidemic, the agricultural sector continued production uninterruptedly and at an increasing pace and spent 2020 productively. As an industry, we started the new year with hope. However, we are going through a difficult process regarding climate, which is one of the most important factors for the agricultural sector. The possibility of experiencing one of the driest periods of recent years is a significant risk for agricultural production. For this reason, we hope that the rains of the last few weeks will continue and the new year will be a fruitful year for our farmers,” he said.

Stating that they made preparations for the fertilizer supply that will be needed for the 2021 spring season in agricultural production months in advance, İbrahim Yumaklı said, "We supplied 80 percent of the products required for our sales budget, which was created according to the seasonal fertilizer consumption data of the past years and the first 6-month orders of Agricultural Credit Cooperatives. "The remaining part is supplied at the appropriate time within the framework of our market share in line with the developments in the market, consumption realizations and the demands of our customers," he said.

Stating that shipments are continuing intensively in accordance with the schedule of orders coming from cooperatives and dealers for the supply of fertilizers needed by farmers during this period, Yumaklı said, "More than 90% of our customers' demands for January have been delivered as of January 24. In addition, nearly 20% of the February orders of our customers, to whom we gave priority in delivery due to geographical conditions and truck movements, were shipped. Our operational activities are carried out uninterruptedly on a 24/7 basis. "Farmers continue to obtain and use our products from Agricultural Credit Cooperatives and other dealers across Turkey," he said.

“DESPITE THE RISKS IN GLOBAL TRADE, WE OFFER THE BEST QUALITY FERTILIZER AT THE BEST PRICE”

Reminding that the chemical fertilizer industry is based on imports in terms of raw materials, since our country does not have the necessary underground resources in this regard, İbrahim Yumaklı said, "Chemical fertilizer is a global sector and Turkey has only around 1.5% share in this market. Purchasing the fertilizer raw materials we import from abroad in foreign currency and delivering them to farmers in TL is one of the financial difficulties of the sector. "Chemical fertilizer prices are directly affected by commodity and raw material prices in international markets, as well as movements in exchange rates," he said.

Stating that, as GÜBRETAŞ, they continue their policy of supplying the highest quality fertilizer to producers at the most affordable price by taking operational measures to minimize the impact of these two factors on costs, Yumaklı said: “Accordingly, even if there is an increase in foreign currency, prices in our country can remain stable when there are decreases in global raw material prices. There have been examples of this in previous years. However, despite the stable course of the exchange rate in recent months, our sector is also affected by the increases in international fertilizer raw material prices exceeding 40% compared to the same period last year. In short, it is not enough to explain fertilizer prices only with exchange rates; "It is necessary to take into account the epidemic factor, the change in the exchange rate in a one-year period, the increase in global raw material prices and loan interest rates in our country," he said.

General Manager Yumaklı made his statement: “Despite all these financial and operational difficulties, as a company, we try to make things easier for our farmers, whose efforts we always remember with gratitude for the efforts they give to the land, and we attach great importance to the continuity in agricultural production. For this purpose, we offer the fertilizers that farmers need at the highest quality and most affordable prices. When the last year's prices in the sector are compared, it will be seen that Agricultural Credit Cooperatives and GÜBRETAŞ stand by the farmers. In our latest field research, the GÜBRETAŞ brand has a quality perception of over 90%, which increases farmers' interest in our products. For this reason, we encountered a very intense demand in 2020, and despite the difficulties brought by the epidemic, we broke the sales and shipment record in the 69-year company history and met more than 2 million tons of fertilizer on our own. “By maintaining this line, we will continue to provide added value to agricultural production,” he concluded.