Dear NAFTC relation,

Milk production up over 10% in 2018

Turkey's cow milk production jumped by 10.05 percent in 2018 year-on-year.

The data by the Turkish Statistical Institute showed that the amount of cow milk collected by the integrated dairies was 10.03 million tons in 2018.

Last year, drinking milk production also soared by 7.3 percent to 1.66 million tons, the official data revealed.

The country produced some 756,000 tons of cheese -- 95.5 percent of which was yielded from cow milk as the rest was produced from sheep, goat, buffalo and mixed milk – in 2018, up 9.6 percent on an annual basis.

Yoghurt production increased by 2.3 percent to reach 1.2 million tons and ayran -- drink made of yoghurt -- production rose by 1.9 percent to reach nearly 731,000 tons year-on-year in 2018.

The country also produced 109,500 tons of milk powder, some 66,000 tons of butter, and nearly 33,000 tons of cream last year.

Meanwhile, Turkey's cow milk production fell by 5.3 percent to reach around 769,000 tons in December, compared to the same month in 2017.

The country's drinking milk production dropped by 11.3 percent (140,734 tons) while cheese production rose by 1.34 percent (58,836 tons), year-on-year in December.

In the last month of 2018, yoghurt (89,377 tons) and ayran (53,631 tons) production was also down by 4.5 percent and 5.3 percent, respectively, versus December 2017.

In December, Turkey produced over 9,000 tons of milk powder, some 6,300 tons of butter, and over 3,000 tons of cream.

Higher citrus production this season

Mugla, is one of Turkey's most important citrus production hubs. The city produced 270 thousand tons of citrus and 50 tons of pomegranates this season. Both farmers and consumers were content with the higher production.

Koycegiz, Ortaca and the Dalaman districts produce and export citrus fruits. Salim Collu, the Ortaca Agriculture Chamber's president, said that Mugla is the leading production center in the Aegean region. Emphasizing that the citrus production and export is very important for the Turkish economy, Collu said: "Yields are high, we collected a great amount of products. However, prices were not as high as expected in the domestic market."

Collu said that 80% of Mugla's citrus production comes from Ortaca and continued: "Since we had a higher production of citrus this season compared to previous years, especially lemon and orange prices decreased. We couldn't sell some of our lemons."

Collu pointed to the increased export in citrus thanks to the Russian market. According to Collu, the highest revenue came from oranges and pomegranates. Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Central Asian countries, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Italy and the Netherlands were among the countries to import Turkish citrus fruits.

Improvement on "strawberries without soil"

Mersin is one of Turkey's leading agricultural production centers. In Silifke district, farmers tried to grow strawberries without soil ten years ago. The first attempt was in a small field of 0,1 hectare. Now the production area has expanded and reached a total of 50 hectares.

Mehmet Yilmaz Yaltir, head of the Strawberry Producers' Association, said that the new technique is more profitable for the farmers compared to the traditional production.

Yaltir stated that with this technique they aim to produce throughout the year. "Once we produce during all seasons, we have more production. As our quality is higher, we manage to expand our markets. Now we have the opportunity to sell more strawberries in Turkey and abroad," said Yaltir.

Mehmet Yilmaz Yaltir, emphasized that open-field strawberries can only be grown in April, May and June, and that with new no-soil technique they can prolong this duration up to 8 months.

Farmers have now embraced the new technique for growing strawberries without soil, according to Yaltir.

"In 2009, we tried to grow strawberries without soil only in an area of 0,1 hectare. Today, this area has gone up to 50 hectares. In open fields only 4 to 5 tons of strawberries per 0,1 hectare can be harvested, whereas with this technique we can collect 10 to 15 tons of strawberries per 0,1 hectare. We built this system because we wanted to avoid soil related diseases and bad climate conditions. Besides, we have an increased productivity now."

Ali Turer, from the Atayurt Wholesalers' Association, said that they buy strawberries for 11 lira per kilogram directly from producers and that in their district they expect 70 to 80 tons of strawberries grown in a field of 8 hectares.

Animal Production Statistics, 2018

Bovine animal number increased by 6.9% in 2018 when compared to the previous year, and became 17 million 221 thousand heads. In the group of bovine animals, cattle number increased by 6.9%, and became 17 million 43 thousand heads; buffalo number increased by 10.5%, and became 178 thousand 397 heads.

Sheep and goat number increased by 4.1% in 2018 when compared to the previous year, and became 46 million 117 thousand heads. In the group of sheep and goat, sheep number increased by 4.5%, and became 35 million 195 thousand heads; goat number increased by 2.7%, and became 10 million 922 thousand heads.

Number of broiler hens increased by 3.7%, and became 229 million 507 thousand units, number of laying hens increased by 2.1%, and became 124 million 55 thousand units, number of turkeys increased by 4.4%, and became 4 million 43 thousand units at the end of 2018. Number of ducks increased by 8.4% and number of geese increased by 10.4% in 2018.

Source: TurkStat

5th International white meat congress in Antalya (24 - 28 April, 2019)

Scientists from around the world, will speak about the future of Turkey's white meat. Approximately 1,500 scientists, experts and sector stakeholders from all over the world are expected to participate in the 5th International White Meat Congress organized by BESD-BIR, which is the only and largest event in the white meat sector in Turkey.

The target of the sector in 2025 is to increase the consumption of poultry meat to 33 kg by reaching the production values ​​of 3,28 million tons. In addition to making investments in order to achieve this goal, the sector closely follows the latest technologies and scientific studies developed worldwide and undertakes its international joint meeting platform with the International White Meat Congress, which is organized every two years.

Famous scientist in the white meat sector from the US, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Netherlands and Canada are expected to participate.

Malnutrition brings a yearly $ 3.5 trillion burden on the world economy. Even if there is no increase in consumption, we need 60 percent more to feed the world's population, which is estimated to reach 9.77 billion in 2050. In case of not taking the necessary measures, 2 billion people will face the problem of malnutrition in 2050.

Kind regards,
NAFTC Turkey
Burçin Sayar - Karahan
Cluster Manager Turkey
E: burcin@naftc-turkey.com
T: +90 (0) 212 274 0153
www.naftc-turkey.com

Upcoming events

*East Marmara Green House, Garden and Ornamental Plants Fair in Izmit.
Date: 06 Mar. - 10 Mar.
* East Marmara Agriculture and Livestock Fair in Izmit.
Date: 06 Mar. - 10 Mar.
* Konya Agriculture 2019 in konya.
Date: 19 Mar. - 23 Mar.