The "Sugar Sector Master Plan Project" carried out in cooperation with TÜBİTAK TÜSSİDE and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Sugar Department was completed and the results of the study were shared with sector representatives and the public at the project closing meeting on May 30, 2022.

The "Sugar Sector Master Plan" was prepared in cooperation with stakeholders in the sector, taking into account water scarcity, population growth, raw material needs of the food sector and sugar production infrastructures. The project aims to manage the sector in an effective, efficient and productive manner, to maintain sustainability in the sector and to meet the domestic sugar demand in the medium and long term.

In the project;

• Value chain analysis of main and by-products of sugar production,
• Analysis of the sugar sector and international trends and forecasts,
• Analysis of sugar consumption and trends,
• Sugar production and by-products analysis,
• Sugar raw material production (sugar beet) and cost analysis

studies were carried out. In this context, face-to-face interviews were conducted with 787 beet producers. Workshops were organized in 22 provinces with the participation of all stakeholders. At the same time, industrial organizations that use sugar as an input and parties engaged in sugar trade were interviewed. With the analysis and evaluations made in the light of all the data collected, main and sub-strategies and action plans were determined within the scope of possible scenarios that await the sugar sector in the future.

All stakeholders in the sector, including the Strategy and Budget Directorate of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey, provincial directorates of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, representatives of public, private and cooperative sugar factories, beet planters' cooperatives, General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works (DSİ), Şeker-İş Union, Agricultural Credit Cooperative (TKK), Agriculture and Rural Development Support Institution (TKDK), Union of Chambers of Agriculture, TÜRKTOB and relevant NGOs were invited to the closing meeting of the project.

In the opening speech of the meeting, Mr. Mümtaz SİNAN, Head of the Sugar Department, emphasized the importance of sugar and the recent developments in sugar and thanked TÜBİTAK TÜSSİDE for their work on the project. Mr. İsmail DOĞAN, Institute Manager of TÜBİTAK TÜSSİDE, emphasized the importance of the sector and the project by expressing their satisfaction for taking part in the project.

Following the opening speeches, Hanife BİLLERLİOĞLU, a Senior Researcher at TÜBİTAK TÜSSİDE, made a presentation on the studies carried out within the scope of the project, the methods used and the scenarios awaiting the sugar sector. In the presentation, information was shared on the main and sub-strategies determined within the scope of each scenario and the proposed actions. The project closing meeting ended with lunch following the presentation.