Ülkü Karakuş, the Chairman of Turkish Feed Manufacturers’ Association (TÜRKİYEMBİR), stated that the Turkish feed sector is already in 3rd place in Europe and 12th place in the world. Karakuş said they will be in 2nd place in Europe the next year and their goal is to be at the top in Europe within 5 years.
The Turkish feed industry, which has rapidly climbed to the top in production in recent years with the investments they have made and the technological methods they use, has started to have a voice in the world. Stating that Turkey was included in the top 12 of the world in terms of feed production keeping the countries that produce their own feed in mind, Ülkü Karakuş, Chairman of Turkish Feed Manufacturers’ Association (TÜRKİYEMBİR) pointed out that the industry has grown 11 times since the beginning of the 1980s.
Ülkü Karakuş, who reminded that about 70 percent of the costs of livestock operations in Turkey were made up of feed costs in the interview he gave to Dünya Gazetesi, said that some people claim that there was an increase in feed prices constantly and this leads to misperceptions in the public opinion in such an environment. Karakuş said:
THERE IS A SERIOUS SHORTAGE OF ROUGHAGE
"In Turkey, the compound feed sector has not raised the prices since January 11, 2017. That is to say that our prices have not changed for about 10 months. Because the raw material prices remained constant in consequence of the intervention of Turkish Grain Board and besides the rate of exchange remained relatively stable. Feed prices didn’t increase for the benefit of producers and in many products a discount of 3.5 per cent was given as well. In my opinion, the main issue here is the uncontrolled price increases on the roughage rather than the compound feed prices. There is a serious shortage of roughage in Turkey therefore it is very costly for breeders to procure roughage. Breeders who do not purchase when the feed prices are at reasonable levels, later have to pay twice the amount or even higher. For example, a breeder who couldn’t achieve to buy a product when it was 20-25 kurush in the harvest season has to buy it when the price goes up to 50 kurush. It is very obvious that stockbreeding is impossible under these conditions."
THERE ARE MORE THAN 500 FEED FACTORIES
"One of the criticisms about the price of feed is that the sector does not reflect the VAT discount on the sale price. However, as the feed sector, we have reflected the VAT discount the very next day. These can be easily seen in the records of the feed mills. However, at that time, 15-20 days after VAT discount there were anomalous increases in the prices of bran and sunflower. Feed factories had to reflect this cost increase on prices as well. There are more than 500 feed factories, and in this free trade environment nobody can overcharge for their feed. We sell the final product just in the way we have procured the raw material."
“WE WILL BE THE BIGGEST OF EUROPE”
Ülkü Karakuş, who made evaluations with regard to the Turkish feed sector’s status in Europe and in the world, shared the following information: "The consolidation have been continuing in the sector for a while. Although some factories are closing, some others that make production under much more professional standards are being opened instead. Turkish feed industry has reached a trading volume of 7.5 billion dollars. We are currently in the 12th place in the world. Our aim here is to rank among the top 10 countries. And as for Europe, being in third place at the moment, we will rise to the second place in 2018. We will be the top feed producer of Europe within the following 5 year-period. Today, 6 of our members are among the top 100 companies of Turkey and we are very proud of it."
PET ERA IN TURKISH FOOD SECTOR
Touching upon the pet culture in Turkey in his speech, Karakuş said, "We observe a remarkable increase in the number of people keeping a pet in Turkey in recent years. There is a significant sociological change in Turkey in this direction. This situation naturally increases the demand for feed. There is an increase in investments in pet food. Many of our members increased their production through investing in this area. We have friends who have a new investment plan for the next turn as well.”