Türkiye's Trade Ministry announced Tuesday it would introduce limitations to exports of chicken meat starting from May 1 to Dec. 31, 2024, in a bid to protect domestic consumers amid inflationary pressures and disruption observed in pricing behaviors.
The ministry said the export curbs would include whole poultry and parts to a maximum of 10,000 tons per month and a total of 80,000 tons by the end of this year.
According to the written statement from the ministry, it was reported that Türkiye, standing out among the world's most important producers and exporters in poultry farming and white meat sector, has achieved the current production volume with correct policies in production and export that have been ongoing for years.
The statement noted that the sector has maintained the ability to meet both domestic and foreign demand for many years, emphasizing that regional and global risks in recent years have created an upward trend in the global food price index and revealed countries' activities to protect domestic market supply, especially for basic agricultural products.
However, the statement suggested that an increase in chicken prices in the early months of 2024 "has been observed to exceed the general inflation rate, monthly price changes in cost items such as feed and energy, and exchange rate fluctuations."
"This situation has shown that the ordinary market conditions in this product group have been exceeded, and ordinary pricing behaviors have been disrupted," it added.
"While price formations were monitored, production and export developments were analyzed, possible scenarios in domestic and foreign demand were carefully examined, and detailed studies were conducted on production, consumption, foreign trade, and price formations through consultations with relevant public institutions and sectoral organizations."
The statement noted that changes in consumption habits and domestic demand have led to speculative price increases, adding: "The analyses conducted have demonstrated the necessity of making some regulations for the export of these products to prevent supply-side difficulties in maintaining consumer welfare in the domestic market."
Accordingly, in line with the consultations and the studies conducted primarily with the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry and relevant official and sectoral organizations, the ministry reiterated the aforementioned dates and limits quota for poultry product exports.
The ministry also said it conducted inspections for 16 producer companies from Oct. 1, 2022, to Oct. 31, 2023, and that these inspections were resumed in the recent period due to complaints about exorbitant price increases in the poultry sector.
It was also that administrative fines were imposed on eight firms found to be in violation by the Unfair Price Evaluation Board as a result of the initial inspections.