TÜDKİYEB President Çelik: Let Unions Set Prices
Nihat Çelik, the General President of the Central Union of Turkish Sheep and Goat Breeders (TÜDKİYEB), emphasized the deserving praise for the producers who transform their efforts into the labor of 85 million people and stated, "Prices should be determined by the Unions."
Çelik drew attention to the fact that producers cannot determine the prices of the products they produce or the animals they raise. He stated, "Our producers cannot set the prices for the products they produce or the animals they raise. They produce and raise, but others determine the prices. Others profit, but the producers cannot. While the raw materials for feed are mostly imported, importers profit through the producers, but the producer cannot. Those importing livestock or meat win, and our producers suffer losses. The situation is no different for milk. The prices of milk are determined by the industry, not the producer. Our demand is for prices in both meat and milk to be determined by the Producer Unions. Producer Unions should play an active role in the market and price determination. If this is achieved, the producer earns the value they deserve, and as they earn, they continue to produce with more enthusiasm. As production increases, ultimately, consumers benefit from it. They consume plenty of meat and milk at reasonable prices. If we cannot create a balance between the producer's earnings and costs, nothing will change even after years. The loser will be both the producer and the consumer, and the winner will be others."
He Urged the Urgent Implementation of Our 5-Year Action Plan
Emphasizing that increasing production in livestock will achieve stability in meat and milk prices, Çelik said, "Producers engaged in livestock production will continue to produce if they make money from their work; otherwise, they will withdraw from this business after a while. Therefore, breeding animals go to slaughter, which is one of the reasons for the current situation in cattle farming. Since there can be no offspring without a mother, a decrease in breeding animals makes livestock farming very difficult, and it takes about 8-10 years to compensate for this. To avoid this situation, policies that protect and support breeders and direct the young population towards animal husbandry need to be implemented urgently. In this regard, as the Central Union, we prepared a five-year action plan consisting of 32 articles covering the years 2023-2028 and submitted it to our Ministry. Therefore, our expectation from our Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Ibrahim Yumaklı, is for our 5-year action plan to be evaluated with its positives and negatives and to be implemented as soon as possible."
The Solution Is in Small Livestock Farming, 2024 Should Be a Breakthrough Year for Small Livestock
General President Çelik stated that the solution to the red meat problem is in small livestock farming and said:
"Today, the solution to the problems experienced in both red meat production and the negative reflection of price increases on consumers is clear. The solution is in small livestock farming. The formula for the solution is to increase the number of small livestock along with improving the productivity of animals. Lamb meat is more valuable than even the most effective drugs. Therefore, measures that will make lamb meat valuable should be implemented. For this, as we have constantly emphasized, much more importance and weight should be given to many issues, from producing roughage from pastures to reducing the shepherd problem and reducing input costs, and, more importantly, encouraging and promoting the consumption of small livestock meat. Giving much more importance and weight to many issues will minimize the problems in red meat. Therefore, intensive efforts should be made towards making 2024 the breakthrough year for small livestock farming.
