Turkey: Livestock and Products Annual

Türkiye’s cattle inventories are forecast to contract in 2024 for the fourth straight year as farmers continue marketing their underweight animals ahead of schedule to minimize losses from rising input costs, especially feed. Higher slaughter numbers are projected to push beef production upward to nearly 1.7 million metric tons in 2024. However, even with this increase, beef demand will continue to outpace production, putting upward pressure on retail beef prices. Meantime, a kilogram of ground beef in August of this year is selling for 300 Turkish Lira per kilogram ($11.35/kg), more than 2.5 times than last year. To alleviate high beef prices, the Turkish government has temporarily authorized imports of feeder cattle and beef. However, these interventions have not yet provided meaningful relief to consumers.