August 29, 2005

 

Poultry still Turkey's no. 1

 

An eFeedLink exclusive report

 

 

Despite its relative late development compared with the traditional cattle meat and dairy sector, poultry farming has emerged as Turkey's top agribusiness today in terms of revenue and production.

 

And combining the best of technology and management practices in poultry rearing will continue to see the sector growing towards higher productivity and profitability, say experts and participants at the country's premium poultry and meat trade fair, VIV Turkey which ended on Saturday.

 

Already, recent history has proven the value of applying technology and breeds development. Where small modest poultry farms once characterised the Turkish poultry sector before the 1970s, all this began to change after the Ministry of Agriculture started introducing pure breeds such as Leghorn, New Hampshire and Plymouth at the country's farms.

 

 

New breeds, such as these birds by Ross breeders,

will continue to be in demand in Turkey's poultry sector. 

 

 

These new breeds and breeding techniques soon paved the way for phenomenal production increase beyond levels possible with locally bred chickens. A 2kg broiler could be raised within 42 days, where it once took 56 days.

 

Similarly, egg production also soared. White and brown layer cross-breeds have also filled barns with eggs by the hundreds and thousands. Consequently, the capacity and quality of feed and feed additives also had to grow along with developments in the country's broiler and layer sector.

 

Beyond production, the success of new breeds led to a marked shift in perspectives within the poultry sector. For the first time, integration was seen as a possible, even necessary step towards supporting this growth. And in order to grow, Turkey's poultry industry will continue to embrace integration, said Prof Ahmet Ergϋn, president of the Turkish Veterinary Poultry Association.

 

Today, 15 of Turkey's top poultry integrators are among the country's 500 largest companies. Topping the list of poultry firms is CP Standart Gida, which stands at no. 84 in the top-500 list of domestic companies with a net sales of almost 335 million new Turkish lira or YLT335 million (US$248 million) in the first half of 2005. This is followed by integrator firms Banvit Bandirma at YTL318 million and Pinar SÏ‹tas at YTL284 million.

 

One key development that will affect the Turkish poultry sector, which is also includes a sizeable turkey and ostrich meat production, is the country's impending entry into the European Commission.

 

"EC membership will be the main impetus that will spur Turkish poultry farms to move towards improving production standards," said Peter Jaszai, the Hungarian manager for Farmavet International, which operates its central office in Istanbul.

 

A competitive Turkish poultry sector would also require rapid early disease diagnosis and veterinary medicine for avian diseases such as Newcastle and Salmonella.

Providing veterinary support services for the local poultry industry is core to the development of the industry and is the main reason for Istanbul jointly hosting the 14th World Veterinary Poultry Congress at the same time as VIV Turkey, said Pinar DaÄŸdeviren, manager of Turkish public relations firm Aslioymen, for the World Poultry Veterinary Congress.

 

That the country has not yet been hit by avian influenza should not detract its poultry practitioners from the importance of good farm management, in particular, biosecurity.

 

"Thank God we never had avian influenza," said Ali Becerik of Refarm, a Turkish company representing for international products like Fort Dodge vaccines and Embrex inovojet machines for egg fertilisation.

 

Turkish farms, he said, should look beyond the upfront cost of implementing biosecurity systems because accreditations like HACCP will improve the profitability of these companies in the longer term.

 

"But as with vaccines, which are used in preventive treatment, so Turkish farms should also realise the importance of preventing diseases through good biosecurity, especially as companies look towards new markets and opportunities within the poultry business," he said.

 

Turkey currently does not export any fresh or frozen poultry meat or eggs. Its main export markets for processed poultry foods are Russia, the Balkan states and the Middle East.

 

VIV Turkey 2005 was held from Aug 25 to 27, in conjunction with Animalia Istanbul and the 14th World Veterinary Poultry Congress.

All rights reserved. No part of the report may be reproduced without permission from eFeedLink.