STORY: Rising costs overshadow Türkiye's dairy industry
SHOOTING TIME: Recent footage
DATELINE: Jan. 28, 2025
LENGTH: 0:02:11
LOCATION: ISTANBUL, Türkiye
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Agabey Farm Selcuk village in Tekirdag, Türkiye
2. various of Ayhan Gul, the owner of Agabey Farm
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (Turkish): AYHAN GUL, Owner of Agabey Farm
4. various of Agabey Farm Selcuk village in Tekirdag, Türkiye
5. SOUNDBITE 2 (Turkish): AYHAN GUL, Owner of Agabey Farm
6. various of Selcuk village in Tekirdag, Türkiye
7. various of Mehmet Yorulmaz, head of the Selcuk village
8. SOUNDBITE 3 (Turkish): MEHMET YORULMAZ, Head of the Selcuk village
9. various of Selcuk village in Tekirdag, Türkiye

STORYLINE:

For Ayhan Gul, 58, who manages a herd of 440 dairy cattle at Agabey Farm in northwestern Türkiye, life is becoming increasingly untenable due to rising costs.

Situated in the fertile agricultural heartland of the Thrace region in Tekirdag province, Gul's farm produces between 4,300 and 4,400 liters of premium milk each day and acts as a supplier to larger companies.

Despite the high output, Gul's profits have dwindled and have become insufficient to cover rising expenses.

Gul mentioned that there are significant impacts from escalating feed and gasoline prices in his business.

Currently, a 50-kg sack of feed costs 650 Turkish liras (around 18.24 U.S. dollars), up from 380 liras last year.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Turkish): AYHAN GUL, Owner of Agabey Farm
"With 440 animals eating 12-13 kg daily, the costs add up quickly. It's really bad. I mean, it's not just about this. It doesn't stop at the feed."

Gul's family tries to grow cattle feed themselves to reduce expenses. However, since a balanced diet is necessary for animal health and productivity, they still need to buy additional feed.

Rising gasoline prices have further inflated costs, with Gul's monthly expenses reaching up to 50,000 liras.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Turkish): AYHAN GUL, Owner of Agabey Farm
"I've been doing this job for 25 years. Everyone has something to say. They try different things. Let me put it this way - 25 years. I'm 58 now. We've been working with livestock since I was a child, with a stick in hand, for 50 years. Now, everyone's calculating costs. They should come, come to our business here, and see how the costs truly rise."

Citing rising production costs, the Turkish Dairy, Meat, and Food Industry Enterprises Association has recommended increasing the price of cold milk to 23.52 liras per liter in 2025. The National Milk Council, which determines market prices, has announced however that raw milk pricing will remain at 17.15 liras per liter.

Mehmet Yorulmaz is the head of Selcuk village, where Agabey Farm is located. He said that rising costs have put significant pressure on farmers, particularly those with smaller-scale operations.

SOUNDBITE 3 (Turkish): MEHMET YORULMAZ, Head of the Selcuk village
"When we were kids, the population of our village exceeded a thousand. There were about a thousand people in our village. It had around 300 households. But now, it has dropped to about 100 households."

According to Yorulmaz, only 10 households still have animals.

The dairy industry plays an important role in Türkiye's economy. According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, commercial dairy businesses collected 10.3 million tons of cow's milk from January to November 2024 - a 10.1 percent increase compared to the same timeframe in 2023.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Istanbul, Türkiye.
(XHTV)