Ali Kırali, Chief Executive Officerof the Turkish Mercantile Exchange (TMEX), spoke at the panel titled “Government Supports in Licensed Warehousing and Developments in the Commodity Exchange Operations,” held on 18 January as part of the “Licensed Warehousing and Grain Markets Congress in Türkiye and the World,” organized by the Licensed Warehouse Companies Association (LİDAŞDER) between 16–19 January 2025. During his speech, Kırali evaluated TMEX’s technological transformation, the successful launch of the intermediary system and TMEX’s targets for 2025.

Kırali stated that TMEX has entered a new era with the TMEX Trading System (TÜRİS), the first exchange software fully developed with domestic resources by the TMEX R&D Center. He emphasized that this system, developed under the TMEX Technological Transformation Project, represents a critical milestone not only for TMEX but also for the transformation of Türkiye’s agricultural commodity markets. He further noted that Commodity Market Intermediary Institutions (CMII) were integrated into the new system, which officially became operational on 13 January 2025.

• Licensed Warehousing and Food Supply Security

Kırali emphasized that licensed warehousing is the cornerstone of commodity exchange operations. He stated that during TMEX’s five years of operation, the number of registered investors increased from 30,000 to 240,000, 47 million tons of products changed hands and a market with a total trading volume of TRY 250 billion was created. He added that, through this success, 225 licensed warehouses operating across 306 locations throughout Türkiye have reached a storage capacity equal to 27% of the country’s annual grain harvest, thereby contributing significantly to food supply security.

• Intermediary System with ÜPAKs

Kırali stated that seven CMIIs authorized by the Ministry of Trade have become members of TMEX, and these institutions will continue investor acquisition activities through their headquarters and commodity exchanges as their agent. He noted that CMIIs will bring the century-long experience of commodity exchanges into specialized commodity exchange operations. Six regional CMIIs will collect orders through web as well as mobile applications and transmit them to TMEX, while the Central Commodity Market Intermediary Institution Inc. (MÜPAK) will provide clearing and custody services as part of the process.

He emphasized that the new system will deepen the Electronic Warehouse Receipt (EWR) Market by bringing together more stakeholders and will contribute to healthier price formation.

Kırali also stated that the Central Securities Depository (MKK) continues to manage electronic registration and settlement processes, while Takasbank undertakes critical services such as risk, collateral and default management.

In addition, he announced that the Algorithmic Detection and Monitoring Platform (ATIP), an AI-supported surveillance system developed by the TMEX R&D Center to enhance market transparency, has been launched.

• Strategic Goals

Kırali underlined that TMEX Trading System has strategic importance for mercantile exchange operations and stated that this infrastructure serves as the foundation for future projects such as the Futures Market and the Tawarruq Market designed for participation finance. He also emphasized that this domestically developed technological infrustructure will contribute to Türkiye’s agricultural trade in the long term, in line with TMEX’s mission.