Large-scale cattle producers manufacturing at 640 lira per kilogram, slaughterhouses paying 575-590 lira

Data from combined plants and slaughterhouses across seven regions from the Aegean to East Anatolia show that large-scale cattle producers manufacture animals at 640 lira per kilogram and sell them for 575-590 lira; the resulting 50-70 lira gap is forcing producers to scale down.

Güven Oktay, owner of Güven Livestock, who has been in the sector for approximately 30 years, described the situation as follows: "Feed, hay, and fuel are expensive, while animal slaughter is cheap." Oktay emphasized that cattle production is no longer profitable and that the current price structure threatens operational continuity itself.

Regional conflicts cutting supply chains have particularly driven up fuel, feed, and hay costs over the past year. Meanwhile, combined slaughter fees have remained fixed. Producers note that this stagnation in purchase prices has discouraged new investment and reduced herd sizes.

This dynamic, which directly affects the supply-demand balance in red meat, may also be reflected in consumer prices. According to Ekonomim's reporting, producers are demanding that combined slaughter prices be brought down to cost levels; otherwise, they warn that exits from the sector will accelerate.