Turkey collects 835,000+ tons of milk in June

By Dilara Hamit

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's integrated dairies collected 835,172 tons of cow's milk in June, the country's statistical authority reported Friday.

Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said the production of drinking milk amounted to nearly 122,000 tons in the same month, increasing by 2.6% annually.

The country produced some 52,000 tons of cheese from cow's milk and nearly 4,500 tons of cheese was made from sheep, goat, water buffalo and mixed milk.

Yogurt production decreased by 1.6% year-on-year to over 98,000 tons in June, as the production of ayran -- a traditional salty drink made of yoghurt and water -- totaled some 59,000 tons.

The institute added that the average fat rate of cow's milk collected by integrated dairies in June was 3.3%, while the average rate of protein was 3.2%.

"Seasonal and calendar adjusted amount of collected cow's milk in June when compared to the previous month increased by 0.7%," TurkStat said.

Last year, over 10 million tons of cow’s milk were collected in Turkey, with drinking milk production totaling nearly 1.7 million tons.

The country's official statistical authority will next release figures on milk and dairy products on Sept. 13.