Controlled imports planned for livestock farming

ANTALYA

Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı has said that from now on, animal imports that disrupt market balances will only be carried out by the state.

"There will be no private sector. The ESK [Meat and Milk Board] and the unions will give us their demands. We will select and bring as many animals as we deem appropriate,” Yumaklı told a group of Journalists on the sidelines of the National Dairy Workshop in Antalya.

“We will also be the guarantor of the vaccinated animals. With the sales ban, prices will not be affected by trade. Our main goal is to strengthen our breeders, increase the volume of family farms and end imports in time,” he added.

The minister recalled that a roadmap for livestock production until 2028, which has been in the works for a long time, has been prepared.

“Our main goal is to make meat production more efficient, sustainable and of higher quality,” he said.

“We will also reduce animal diseases. We want to save the producer from a fragile structure and structurally strengthen family farms. Breeding only five to10 animals does not work, their volume will also grow with support. Family farms will produce more efficiently with more animals.”

Yumaklı noted that imports of animals disturb the balance in the domestic market, but sometimes there is a need for imports.

“If you leave it to the private sector, you have both a supply problem and a price problem, he said.

“We are now moving to a new system. From now on, ESK will bring as many animals as we need without using any intermediaries. In other words, there will no longer be a private sector in animal imports. The needs of both large and small producers will be collected and evaluated. If we deem it appropriate, we will import special and productive animals. They will also not be sold for four months. The price will not be raised by such buying and selling.”

Imported animals will be under the state’s guarantee regarding their health, the minister said.

“We will increase meat and milk production by eliminating unproductive animals,” Yumaklı added.

“There will never be prices that put local producers in difficulty. We are not talking about large imports. There will be a small number of imports that will support local producers and increase quality. Our main goal will be to eventually end all imports.”

Yumaklı added that there will be more strict criteria for further agricultural incentives.

“We want to make both fruit/vegetable and livestock production sustainable for those who do it,” he said.

"To get incentives, the producer should say: ‘Yes, I will continue to do this work.’ Productivity is another goal. If he grows wheat, he will aim to get much more than 280 kilograms from an acre. In animal production the farmer will aim to get much more than 24 kilograms of milk a day. Then we can focus on quality.”