November 27, 2007

Turkey launches its first pork processing facility

Turkey opens its first pork processing facility, located in Mengen district of the northwestern city of Bolu, after two years of paperwork.

The facility will process seven tonnes of meat a day, which will be sold to domestic and foreign markets.

Gencay Tunc, the founder of the facility, managed to get financing from the World Bank and obtained necessary permits to start the operations.

The pork facility stirred debates in Mengen and Bolu. However, Tunc was steadfast in his objective to engage in pig production. Tunc said that this would somehow remedy some unemployment problems in Turkey.

The facility will process and export meat from hunters that have hunting certificates or from a hunting club. It targets to export US$1 million worth of pork annually.

Turkey currently earns US$2.5 million a year from exporting pig hair, said Tunç. This time, the facility intends to utilize all parts of pig and gain revenue.

Pork consumption in Istanbul is around 30 to 40 tonnes.