Agriculture

Turkey’s red meat output tumbles as costs keep climbing

May 7, 2025, 3:40 PM

A goat herder in Antalya province. Turkey's statistics agency has reported double-digit falls in all main categories of meat production in 2024

Consumers opt for cheaper poultry
High costs forcing farmers to cull herds
Government wants to halt imports

Rising costs and falling returns have contributed to a drop in red meat production in Turkey, threatening the government’s plan to halt imports by 2028.

Red meat production fell by almost 12 percent in 2024, according to the state statistics agency Turkstat. Just 2.1 million tonnes were processed last year, down on the 2.38 million tonnes slaughtered and jointed in 2023.

Double-digit falls were recorded in the main categories of meat production – beef, lamb and sheep, and goat – and processing output dropped back to levels posted in 2021.

This decline was partly offset by a rise in poultry processing, another Turkstat report showed, as hard-pressed consumers opted for the cheaper white meat instead.

Turkish shoppers have been labouring under sky-high interest rates designed to damp persistent inflation. The minimum wage – 22,104 lira (approximately $620) a month – struggles to keep pace with rising costs.

Unemployment has hit a 20-year low but is still 7.9 percent, according to Turkstat. Financial markets have also been roiled by the arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu, the mayor of Istanbul and a leading opposition figure.

Now the Turkish meat and dairy industry is stuck in a vicious circle, according to Sencer Solakoğlu, president of the All Dairy, Meat and Breeding Cattle Breeders Association.

“The main problem behind high prices in Turkey is that there are not enough meat animals in the market,” he told AGBI. “And the reason behind that is that many breeding animals were slaughtered in the years between 2020 and 2022.”

The cull was motivated by the high costs of maintaining herds, drought in some regions and producers seeking to take advantage of steep rises in over-the-counter prices. The thinning of herds is now being felt in the market.

“Milk-producing and breeding mothers are no longer there, meaning there is no milk, no calves and thus no meat – and one becomes bound to overseas markets,” said Solakoğlu.

That is a link the Turkish government has said it is trying to sever.

In March, agriculture minister İbrahim Yumaklı announced the plan to end all livestock imports by 2028. The government is forecasting that domestic production will be sufficient by then to meet all domestic demand and feed into exports.

To reach this point, the minister promised investment in animal health services, quality control centres and in more resilient varieties of breeding stocks.

However, with many producers once more operating at a loss, Solakoğlu said breeding stock could again be culled for short-term gains – leaving Turkey without the capacity to build up herds and meet supply demands in the future.