Türkiye's flour exports last year reached a historic high of 3.66 million tons and have thus broken the world record in foreign sales, a top industry official said Thursday.

Türkiye has been the leading country in flour exports worldwide since 2015, Eren Günhan Ulusoy, the head of the International Association of Operative Millers (IAOM) Eurasia, noted in a press release.

Renewing the record, the country generated $1.5 billion (TL 45.9 billion) from flour exports in 2023, he said.

Emphasizing that many factors have disrupted supply chains and impacted food safety since 2020, Ulusoy said, "Within the pandemic, war, under these conditions, Türkiye has positioned itself as the main supplier of this basic food."

"We were already the first country that comes to mind because of us standing at the forefront. We underlined our strong position once again in difficult times. 2023 passed to records as a good year in terms of exports," he said.

The country is also expected to export over 3.5 million tons of flour in 2024, he added.

Despite the recent shipping problems in the Red Sea, the Turkish flour sector boosted its exports by 22% to 344,000 tons in January compared to the same month a year earlier, he stressed.

He also said Türkiye saw drops in grain production in the last three years due to weather conditions. There was a decrease of up to 60% in this period last year, but this season is better, he noted.

Türkiye reached 22 million tons in wheat production in 2023, and the sector expects production of 24 million-25 million tons this year.