Poultry producers have long awaited a moment like this. With the
arrival of the Ramadan holiday during summertime, the demand for
poultry rose by nearly 40 percent.
“Hot weather lead people to break fasting with lighters foods, whose
digestion is relatively easier. Since the iftar [fast-breaking] meal
cannot be considered complete without meat, poultry was in high
demand,” said Necmettin Çal??kan, general director of Beyza Piliç, a
poultry producer based in the southern city of Adana.
“Our sales increased 40 percent. We can say that poultry producers
are living their best days. We expect this high demand for poultry to
continue until the Feast of the Sacrifice,” said Çal??kan.
It may be easier to digest poultry than red meat, but that is only
one of the reasons why people have preferred bringing poultry to their
tables. According to Çal??kan, another reason for the increased demand
in poultry is the price advantage.
“Red-meat prices rose from 15 to 20 Turkish Liras per kilogram. The
price of poultry per kilo was set at 4 to 5 liras during Ramadan. This
price discrepancy has turned into a major advantage for us, reviving
demand.”
Meanwhile, due to an increasing demand for halal, or
Islam-permissible, food products, many countries have preferred to
import poultry from Turkey instead of countries like the United States
or Brazil.
“Poultry exports have exploded recently. Our annual poultry exports,
which used to stand at 25,000 tons annually, increased to 100,000 tons
within the past couple of years,” said Çal??kan. Many Muslim countries
prefer to import poultry from Turkey, he added.
