Turkey’s poultry meat exports take a tumble

Turkish poultry meat exports have dropped by 50 percent so far in 2015. The drop in trade was due to speculation about possible avian influenza cases and escalating terror attacks, poultry industry representatives in Turkey told Hurriyat Daily News.  Whereas exports were around US$1 billion in 2014, this year’s optimistic figure from Poultry Products Promotion Group head, Müjdat Sezer, was $700 million.
Exports to Iraq decreased by 80 percent in the short term after a number of avian influenza cases were seen in Turkey and Iraq temporarily imposed a new tax on imported poultry meat earlier in 2015, but Ahmet Ergün , secretary general of the Poultry Meat Producers and Breeders Association (BESD-BIR), said that the trade resumed once the outbreaks ceased and the tax hike was revoked.
According to Abdurrahman Çakar from the Sakarya Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Turkey produces around 2 million metric tons of poultry meat a year, of which it exports around 20 percent.
After 8 years without an outbreak of avian influenza, Turkey was hit by the H5N1 highly pathogenic variant of the virus in 3 poultry flocks in the northern province of Kastamonu as well as Balikesir and Manisa in the west of the country in April and May 2015, according to reports sent to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).
In 2013, the most recent year for which the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Statistics Division has published figures, Turkey’s chicken meat production was just under 1.76 million metric tons.

Avian flu contained: Turkish poultry exports to resume

Turkish poultry exports to its key export market of Iraq could partially restart this week if discussions between officials from the two countries are successful.
Iraq, Turkey’s largest foreign destination for broiler meat and eggs, stopped importing Turkish poultry products following the outbreak of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in late April. However, unlike some other trade partners, including Russia, Iraq banned imports from the whole country, rather than only from the affected zones.
Turkey had been free of HPAI since 2008, however, ongoing monitoring detected an infected small backyard flock in late April. The disease subsequently spread to three different sites, although its origin remains unknown.
The disease and associated export restrictions have hit egg producers particularly hard as Turkey exports 20-30 percent of its eggs. Prices on the domestic market usually fall in May and June and, with exports restricted, prices on the home market fell further still, although some recovery has now taken place.
This latest avian influenza outbreak, which started in the north of the country before spreading west, has been less severe than the outbreak of 2008, as has been consumer reaction, in part because media channels focused their attention on the run-up to national elections rather than on the disease.
Only one commercial farm was affected, with the other outbreaks being in backyard flocks. Individual companies and the government have monitoring programs, and the response to the outbreaks by both the private and public sectors is thought to have been good, industry sources say.
Return to normal
With no further infected premises reported since late May the outbreak is now thought to be over, although monitoring is continuing, and genetics companies and others are continuing to offer their clients ongoing animal health and biosecurity advice.
The country has sufficient breeding farms that the ongoing difficulties with avian influenza in the US are not expected to affect stocks going forward. If discussions with Iraq prove successful, the restart of exports will not be from the whole country - infected areas may not export for three months following the culling of flocks.

Turkey poultry, egg production up in June over 2011 numbers

The Turkish poultry industry slaughtered 94 million birds in June, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute, 2.4 percent lower than in the month of May but 7.7 percent higher than in June 2011.
The industry produced 157,406 tons of poultry meat during the month, 2.7 percent lower than in May but 8.5 percent higher than in June 2011. Egg production was 0.4 percent higher in comparison with May at 1.2 billion eggs, and 17.3 percent higher than June 2011 numbers, according to the institute.

Russia seeks Turkish poultry to make up for loss of US supply

Russia’s increasing demands for Turkish poultry have led to a rift between the Turkish government and some of the country’s poultry producers, who are concerned that an export increase could reduce the domestic poultry supply and hike up prices, according to Hürriyet Daily News.
Russia has requested 500,000 tons of white meat to make up for its loss of U.S. and Brazilian poultry since Moscow enacted an import ban earlier this year, claiming that the two countries employed “excessive chlorine usage” in their processing plants. The Russian government lifted a ban on Turkish poultry February 1, soon after enacting its chlorine wash ban.
Six Turkish poultry producers have signed agreement to export meat to Russia, and 11 more deals are in the works, according to the newspaper. But others are hesitant about entering into agreements. Ramazan Altintaş, who oversees exports at poultry producer Şeker Piliç, said that Turkey is not equipped to meet Russia’s export demands.