Poultry, milk production increase in March

ANKARA

The output of both poultry, milk and milk products increased in March compared with the same month of last year, according to the data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK).

Chicken meat production rose by 2.7 percent year-on-year to 205,000 tons, while turkey meat output showed an annual increase of 16.9 percent to more than 5,000 tons.

Last month, the Trade Ministry imposed temporary curbs on the export of chicken meat in the face of the rising prices.

According to the new regulation, which took effect as of May 1, chicken meat exports will be restricted to a maximum of 10,000 tons monthly and to 80,000 tons in total by the end of this year.

In the first months of 2024, the rate of increase in chicken meat prices has exceeded the headline inflation and costs, such as feed and energy, the ministry said.

From January to March, nearly 610,000 tons of chicken meat was produced, marking a 7.5 rise from the same period of last year.

Some 333 million chickens were slaughtered in the first three months of 2024, up 7.3 percent year-on-year.

The amount of cow’s milk collected by dairy enterprises rose 7.7 percent in March to 982,322 tons, while drinking milk output inched up 0.8 percent to 140,000 tons, TÜİK said.

Yogurt production amounted to around 104,000 tons, rising nearly 11 percent from a year ago. Production of cheese made of cow’s milk increased by 5.3 percent to 70,000 tons.