Turkey's poultry production down in H1

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Chicken meat production in Turkey down by 1.4% in the first half of this year on an annual basis, the country's statistical authority announced Wednesday.

Chicken meat production amounted to 1.09 million tons in the first half, while turkey meat production dropped by 21.8% to stand at 23,017 tons, a Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) report said.

The figure for slaughtered chicken was 599,977 million units, down 4% over the same period, the institute noted.

The report also revealed that hen egg production in Turkey totaled 9.57 billion units, decreasing by 3.3% year-on-year during the January-June period.

Meanwhile, in June alone, chicken and turkey meat production totaled 193,604 (up 3%) and 4,492 tons (down 28.6%), respectively. Turkey also produced 1.5 billion hen egg, decreasing 1.4% year-on-year in June.

- Poultry exports top $500M

Turkey's egg exports reached $182.4 million, up from $110.5 million year-on-year in the January-June period, while exports of meat from poultry animals increased by 21.9% to some $321.1 million.

The country's total poultry exports – meat and egg – amounted to $503.5 million in the six-month period.

In 2020, Turkey's chicken and turkey meat production totaled 2.1 million tons, while nearly 19.8 billion hen eggs were produced.