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September, 2026…
The rise in the small ruminant population has pleased breeders…
Turan Saldırıcıer, Chair of the Central Union of Sheep and Goat Breeders of Türkiye (TÜDKİYEB), stated that the small ruminant population in the country reaching the 55–60 million head range once again represents a significant development for the sector.
ANKARA…
In a statement to an Anatolian Agency (AA) correspondent, Saldırıcıer said that, according to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), the country’s small ruminant population had reached 60 million 815 thousand.
Drawing attention to the development in the small ruminant population, Saldırıcıer made the following remarks:
“I believe it would be more meaningful to evaluate this data over the last five years. According to year-end figures, our small ruminant population stood at 57.5 million in 2021, fell to 56.3 million in 2022 and 52.4 million in 2023. It rose to 54.9 million in 2024 and 57.9 million in 2025. Looking at this table, we see an upward trend in 2024 and 2025 following the decline experienced in 2023. The fact that the small ruminant population, which had fallen to 52.4 million head in 2023, has once again reached the 55–60 million head range and has been maintained in recent times is a noteworthy development for our sector.”
Whilst assessing the June figures, Saldırıcıer emphasised the need to take into account the biological and seasonal production cycle of small ruminant farming throughout the year, noting in particular that births—leading to an increase in the number of lambs and kids—and seasonal herd movements can influence livestock population figures between June and December…
