THE GLOBAL WINDOW OF TURKISH FOOD AND AGRICULTURE The Global Window of Turkish Food and Agriculture Sector
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A steady rise in the production of butter in Türkiye to achieve a quantity of over 100,000 tonnes last year has left the industry positive in the face of the recent uptick in prices in Europe and this is not seen as impacting the country, sector representatives said on Sunday.
In Europe, butter prices have soared rapidly due to costs and insufficient production, rising approximately 30% when compared to March last year, according to recent data by the European statistics agency Eurostat.
On the other hand, although following a fluctuating course last year, the production of butter in Türkiye has surged by approximately 15% on an annual basis to reach a new record high, according to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), sourced by Anadolu Agency (AA).
The total production of butter surged to 100,321 tonnes in 2024, up 15.2% year-over-year, the data revealed. Looking at the production in the past five years, it was observed it maintained an upward momentum, increasing from around 78,610 tonnes in 2020 to 95,656 tonnes in 2022 and dropping slightly in 2023 before reaching a new record of over 100,000 tonnes in 2024.
Harun Çallı, president of the Packaged Milk and Milk Products Industrialists Association (ASÜD), in his statement to AA, noted that Türkiye’s butter production continues to rise.
Mentioning that the boost in milk also reflects positively on butter production, Çallı said, “When milk production increases in our country, milk powder production also increases … In other words, the increase in milk powder production also positively affects butter. The butter produced is largely consumed in the domestic market.”
Furthermore, Çallı identified that the butter crisis has come to the agenda again in Europe, recalling the supply shortage of the product in Europe last November.
“There is a hike in prices these days again. In fact, there have been restrictions on butter sales in some places. The butter problem in Europe does not affect our country positively or negatively,” he noted.
“There is a restriction on butter exports in our country to protect the domestic market. As a country, we can only export products in packages of 1 kilogram (2.21 pounds) and below,” he explained.
“Milk obtained from approved farms must be processed for export to Europe and our 41 facilities can export butter to Europe. If there is a surplus of butter in our country, support for approval of exports to Europe will be beneficial to our sector,” he further added.
Late last year, amid a surge in prices in Russia due to inflation and to ensure the availability of butter, Türkiye, along with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), moved to export butter to this market.
The country has a long tradition of dairy production and butter holds a central place in Turkish cuisine. In recent years, Türkiye’s butter production has become more industrialized, with an emphasis on meeting both domestic demand and export opportunities.
Çallı, emphasizing that supporting producers is important for increasing dairy exports, concluded that exports of high-value-added products such as cheese should be encouraged.
