Industry representatives, pointing out that the increase in the production of cow’s milk and drinking milk will also reflect on consumption, anticipate that this increase will be utilized in exports as well.
According to a compilation made by AA correspondent from TÜİK data, the collected amount of cow’s milk reached 915,522 tons in January, increasing by 4.7% annually. The production of drinking milk by commercial dairy enterprises also increased by 6% during the same period, reaching 153,796 tons.
Tevfik Keskin, Chairman of the Turkey Milk Producers Central Union, stated in a statement to AA correspondent regarding the matter that looking at the data, milk production has gradually begun to increase.
Keskin noted that seasonal increases in milk production are seen in the spring months, while decreases are experienced in production in other months.
“The increase in milk production and consumption will accelerate” Keskin pointed out that when looked at in a seasonally and calendar-adjusted manner, milk production has increased compared to last year, stating that although animal population can fluctuate over the years, the general trend is upwards.
Emphasizing that milk in Turkey is mostly consumed as yogurt, buttermilk, and cheese, Keskin continued:
“The reason for the increase in drinking milk production is that our people are now more conscious, and the benefits of milk for everyone from 7 to 70 have been scientifically proven. The School Milk Project implemented in schools has also contributed significantly to this situation. Our country’s population has increased by 92,824 people compared to the previous year. Our population growth is also a reason for the increase in consumption. Our awareness of the importance of milk as a society also increases our consumption and raises our drinking milk rates. With the sustainability of producer prices, our producers will start to feed their animals well. I believe that in the coming years, milk production and consumption will increase with a rising momentum.”
“The increase in exports will bring about an increase in production” Hamit Can, Chairman of the National Milk Council, also stated that the announced figures are quite pleasing and positive for the sector, saying, “With the quantitative increase in the milk we produce as a country, we can say that our producers have compensated for the production losses of previous years under current market conditions.”
Reminding that they experienced a decrease of 7.1% in total milk production following a difficult year in 2022, Can stated that they also experienced similar decreases in the amounts of cow and drinking milk transferred to the industry and cheese production in the same year.
Can stated that they expect the momentum of production increase, which started last year, to continue throughout this year, saying, “Especially with the effect of international market prices, we hope that the losses we experienced in exports last year will be compensated, especially from the second half of this year. Undoubtedly, the increase in exports will bring about an increase in domestic production.”
Can reported that the amount of cow milk transferred to the industry increased by 4.8% last year and continued to increase this year, stating that this situation raised hopes for resolving the problems of stakeholders related to quantity and income.
source: aa.com.tr/ prepared by Melisa Beğiç