A group of Turkey origin that operates under the name of Tiryaki Agro Gida Sanayi Ve Ticaret AS (Tiryaki) has just requested a million-dollar loan from a financial entity controlled by the World Bank whose ultimate goal is to import soybeans from Argentina and also from Brazil.

The Asian conglomerate, which is a leading company in the trade of agricultural commodities, submitted a loan request to the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for US$112.5 million, which is pending approval by the international entity.

If the transaction is enabled, US$66 million will be delivered by the IFC and the rest by a syndicate of banks, and the Turkish group will use the funds for the development of an agro-industrial plant whose total investment is US$205.5 million and which includes a soybean crushing plant and warehouses at berth 4 of the port of Umm Qasr in Iraq.

The General Trading Company operates at this site, of which Tiryaki is the majority shareholder and which has its business center in said port located in southern Iraq and considered the largest in that country with an area of 171,000 m2.

According to the project presented by the company to the IFC, the soybeans will be imported from Brazil and Argentina and processed locally into by-products, such as soybean meal, oil, lecithin and shell.

It will also import corn from several countries, including Argentina, but it will only be stored and distributed.

The company estimates that the project’s storage will be around 145,000 tons and crushing capacity will be around 900,000 tons per year.

unstable local scenario

The Asian group’s project to import soybeans from Argentina comes at a complex time for local agriculture as a result of the severe drought that affected the entire agricultural cycle and which anticipates a harvest for the 2022/2023 season that will be 26.9% lower than that of the previous cycle (104.1 million tons), the lowest of the last 11 cycles in Argentina.

According to a report by IES Consultores, the planting of the 2022/2023 campaign totaled 40.9 million hectares, with an annual decrease of 2%, while the national agricultural production projected for 2022/2023 is 104.1 million hectares. tons, 26.9% less compared to 2021/2022 due to the severe drought.

The oilseed harvest is projected at 37.3 million tons, a drop of 24.4% compared to the previous season.

In 2022, agricultural exports in values verified a growth of 8% (USD 42,043 million), while shipments in quantities fell annually 6.3% (96.5 million tons),

The international prices of grains were record in the 2022 average for soybeans, corn and wheat, remaining at high values at the beginning of 2023, although with a slight downward trend in the two-month period.

Analysts from IES Consultores explain that the lower implementation of the current cycle is the result of the fall in corn and wheat planting, which dominates the rise in barley, sunflower and soybean.

In the 2022/2023 cycle, the participation of cereal planting was 53.2% (55.1% in 2021/2022), while oilseeds participated with 46.8% of the national agricultural area (44.9 % in 2021/2022).

The area planted with oilseed grains in the current campaign increased 2.3% (18.9 million hectares) after falling six consecutive cycles, in line with the increase in soybean and sunflower planting.

Beyond this local setting, the Turkish company’s operations mainly comprise soybean and corn storage, husking, husking, crushing, oil extraction, soybean distillation and degumming, soybean meal desolventization, roasting, drying and cooling.

In addition, Manarat Umm Qasr Company (Manarat) signed a contract with the Iraq General Ports Company to rehabilitate and operate Pier 4 of Umm Qasr Port.

Furthermore, it sealed a partnership agreement with Sama Al Manar for the operation of Berth-4 and backyard facilities in October 2020.

Manarat will be responsible for the maritime cargo operations of the company’s soybean and corn products that will arrive from Argentina, while Sama Al Manar will be in charge of the construction of the soybean crushing plant.

65% of that development was completed last March and the project is expected to enter service next October.

A regional giant

Tiryaki Agro Gida Sanayi Ve Ticaret AS was founded in 1980 in Gaziantep, Turkey. The company produces grains, nuts, legumes, organic foods, and oilseeds. It has more than 500,000 tons of storage capacity and exports its products to more than 80 countries.

Como Tiryaki owns 25 production facilities in 12 countries and several subsidiaries on four continents.

From its association with Hassad Food Company, the investment company Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) responsible for investments in agriculture and food, faced an expansion plan under which is the plan to import soybeans from Argentina.