THE GLOBAL WINDOW OF TURKISH FOOD AND AGRICULTURE The Global Window of Turkish Food and Agriculture Sector
Related Articles
Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Yumaklı stated that there were no problems with sacrificial animals during Eid al-Adha, saying, “830 thousand cattle and 2.5 million sheep and goats were slaughtered in Türkiye, for a total of 3 million 330 thousand animals.”
Yumaklı noted that Türkiye ranks first in Europe and among the top 10 in the world in terms of agricultural output and recalled that by the end of 2024, 2,218 different products were exported to 186 countries, generating 32.6 billion dollars in agricultural exports. Emphasising that the country has the capacity to meet its own needs, Yumaklı made the following assessments:
“We have no problem with sufficiency. Even if our borders were closed, we would have no problem with self-sufficiency. When it comes to animal production, we are 10th in the world in milk production. We are 9th in beef production and 5th in lamb production. We are 9th in the world and first in Europe in poultry production. We are 10th in the world and first in Europe in egg production.”
‘There were no issues with sacrificial animals’
Yumaklı recalled that in 2002, the country’s total exports were around 30 billion dollars and noted that today, this figure is achieved solely by the agricultural sector.
Yumaklı also pointed out that there were no issues with sacrificial animals during Eid al-Adha and continued:
“This year, we provided 50 percent more sacrificial animals than last year. All our producers focused on this. If there are any sacrificial animals left over that cannot be slaughtered this year, we said, “As the Meat and Milk Board, we will purchase them.” Neither producers nor consumers faced any issues in terms of availability or price. A total of 830,000 large livestock and 2.5 million small livestock were slaughtered in Turkey. In total, 3.33 million animals were slaughtered.”
