“Ulaş Semerci, the General Manager of Abalıoğlu Agricultural Production Inc. – the leading feed producer in Turkey – said that his company is ranked 53rd among Turkey’s largest 500 companies announced by Istanbul Chamber of Industry with a turnover of 2.3 billion Turkish Liras adding that the company’s target is for 2018 to reach a turnover of 3 billion.” 

Abalıoğlu has been founded in 1960 in Denizli as the first private feed facility in Turkey. The company is getting prepared to celebrate its 50th anniversary next year.

Today, the company has been ranked 53rd biggest company in Turkey. It has accomplished sustainable development and improved the feed sector and become one of the biggest industrial companies in Turkey.

Ulaş Semerci, the General Manager of Abalıoğlu Agricultural Production Inc. that has produced feed for half a century with “Abalım” brand, gave an interview Feed Planet to talk about his objectives and the company’s transformation.

Semerci said that animal food products constitute twenty-five percent of human nutrition on a global scale while this rate increased to forty percent in developed countries.

He said that the nutritional value of animal food products including meat and milk is determined by the feed used by breeders. He reminded that agricultural lands were divided by siblings as a result of inheritance, and these lands are so small that they cannot be cultivated.

“To increase the production of feed plants in Turkey, we need to have a land reform,” he highlighted.

Your company is ranked 53rd among Turkey’s biggest 500 companies. What is your target this year?

Abalıoğlu Yem was ranked 53rd among Turkey’s biggest 500 companies announced by Istanbul Chamber of Industry due to company's turnover of 2.3 billion Turkish liras last year.

We are ranked 5th in the list among the businesses of Aegean Region announced by the Aegean Region Chamber of Industry, EBSO. We focused on institutionalization efforts during 2017.

Having a turnover of 2.3 billion Turkish liras, Abalıoğlu is targeting a turnover of 3 billion Turkish liras this year. The feed section of Abalıoğlu Yem has turned into Abalıoğlu Agricultural Production.

WE HAVE FACILITIES IN TEN CITIES. TWO MORE WILL FOLLOW Do you have any new investment plans? We produce high-quality feed under the brand of ‘Abalım’ for cattle, sheep, and poultry breeding. In total, we produce 2.5 million tons annually in our facilities at Denizli, Çanakkale, Ankara, Mersin, Samsun, Manisa, İzmir, Konya, and Burdur.

In near future, we aim to put two more facilities in use. We plan these facilities to be in the East Anatolia and Marmara region.

MORE THAN HALF OF NEEDED COMPOUND FEED IS IMPORTED What can be done with local raw materials in the compound feed sector? What can you say about Turkey's imports of raw materials in the production of compound feed? Turkey produces approximately twenty-three million tons of feed. Twenty million tons of this total production is imported and is offered to the market after certain processes. The compound feed sector is crucial for the sustainable development of the animal husbandry.

Turkey imports more than half of the required raw material to produce the compound feed that is one of the most important and costly inputs of the animal husbandry because the local sources are insufficient.

LAND REFORM IS A MUST

Turkey needs a significant land reform to increase the production of feed crops. There are too many idle and empty lands. In many places, siblings inherited lands that get smaller in time and is not worthy of cultivation because of its size.

We have to import products since we cannot cultivate these lands. We need a land reform to fix this problem. Pasture areas must be reformed. Production will not increase if we don’t fix these problems.

What do you think can be said about the importance of feed sector in terms of animal husbandry and the food sector?

The population growth continuously increases the need for agricultural and animal food products.

The development of agriculture and animal husbandry at the global level and the increase in production of food products such as meat, milk, and eggs are not only dependent on highly-productive farm animal breeds.

The feeding of these animals with an adequate and balanced ratio is an important factor to increase the production. Here, the importance of feed comes into the picture.

The animal food products constitute twenty-five percent of human nutrition on a global scale while this rate increased to forty percent in developed countries.

The nutritional value of animal food products including meat and milk is determined by the feed used by breeders.

The feed quality is related to the nutritional value, energy value, protein ratio, and quality, digestible rate, fiber ratio, and amount of mineral substances.

Thus, the nutritional value of feed directly affects the performance of meat and milk. As Abalıoğlu Agricultural Production Inc., we aim to provide high-efficiency in animal food production with our feed products that increase the efficiency of meat and milk production, which are an important step in the food chain.