Turkey: Some 9.6M tons of cow’s milk collected in 2019

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey collected 9.56 million tons of cow's milk in 2019, the country’s statistical authority revealed on Wednesday.

The 2019 figure slipped 4.7% compared to previous year, Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said in a statement.

The country produced 1.5 million tons of drinking milk last year, indicating a 7.3% annual drop.

Cheese production from cow’s milk also fell 6% year-on-year to some 679,000 tons.

"Cheese production from sheep, goat, buffalo and mixed milk was 28,100 tons, dropped 15.9% when compared to the previous year," it added.

In 2019, Turkey also produced 1.2 million tons of yogurt, over 720,000 tons of ayran -- a traditional salty drink made of yogurt and water --, some 106,700 tons of milk powder, nearly 74,000 tons of butter, and 40,000 tons of cream.

- 2019 figures for dairy exports

According to the National Milk Council data, Turkey exported dairy products worth of $356.8 million in 2019, up nearly 10% from 2018.

Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh were the top export markets for Turkish dairy products last year.