The bird flu outbreak in the United States disrupted the country’s egg supply, creating new export opportunities for Turkey. Turkish producers boosted their exports to the US by more than four times in the January–August period, generating significant revenue.

Turkey’s egg exports gained significant momentum as a result of the bird flu outbreak that began in the United States late last year. Between January and August, Turkey’s egg exports to the US rose by 406 percent compared to the same period last year, climbing from 3.5 million dollars to 17.7 million dollars.

Bedri Girit, Chair of the Aegean Fisheries and Animal Products Exporters’ Association

The culling of millions of poultry and the subsequent drop in supply in the US led to a sharp rise in imports from Turkey. Bedri Girit, Chair of the Aegean Fisheries and Animal Products Exporters’ Association, said: “This global wave has worked to our advantage. There were very serious bird flu cases in the US and Brazil. At one point, 11 European countries faced simultaneous outbreaks. This is the main reason why our exports to the US increased fourfold and nearly tripled to the EU.”

In the first eight months of this year, Turkey exported eggs to 46 countries, earning a total of 238 million dollars. Iraq ranked first with 66 million dollars, while the US moved up to third place with 17 million dollars. Girit emphasized that the crisis also introduced Turkish eggs to new markets, making their quality more visible across European Union countries.

With an annual production of around 21 billion eggs, Turkey ranks among the world’s top 10 producers.