Livestock number in Turkey is increasing
Livestock numbers in Turkey have increased since the end of last year, with sheep inventory growing by 7.3% to reach 45.182 million. There was a slight increase in the group of bovine animals, with cattle number rising by 0.9% to became 18.124 million, while buffalo number increased by 0.9% and became 194,000 at the end of June, compared to December of the previous year, informs Turkstat.
In the group of sheep and goat, sheep number increased by 7.3% and became 45.182 million, while; goat number increased by 2.1% and became 12.235 million.
According to a USDA report, Turkey imported 689,076 head of cattle in 2019, which is a decrease of 52% from the previous year. The Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry restricted feeder cattle, breeding cattle, and cattle for slaughter imports in late 2019 since Turkish cattle producers had been struggling to compete with low prices of imported cattle in the domestic market.
Turkey produced 1 million metric tons (MT) of beef in 2019, which is similar to 2018. The stagnation in beef production is due to fewer feeder cattle imports in 2019. Slaughter prices are too low, and producers cannot break even on their expenses of raising animals. Also, the carcass yield of the animals is very low, approximately 270-300 kilograms (kg).
Red meat consumption remained at 15 kg per capita in 2020 due to continuing food inflation, high red meat prices, and weak consumer purchasing power. Low figures in consumption and the challenges brought by the COVID-19 crisis can also explain the increase in livestock numbers for the last 7 months.
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