Turkish supermarket chain Migros has set up a beef cattle breeding farm with capacity for up to 10,000 animals in the Koçarlı district of the Aegean province of Aydın, Turkish business daily Dünya reported on Oct. 13.
The company has invested €9 million in the facility, called the Migros Beef Breed Breeding Farm, which covers an operating area of 140,000 square metres.
Angus and Hereford herd
The farm started with 3,600 breeding cows of the Angus and Hereford breeds, which the company said were chosen for their productivity and hardiness. Some 600 calves have been born so far, and Migros aims to raise production to 5,000 calves a year as the number of pregnant animals increases.
The calves are intended to feed into Türkiye’s domestic fattening sector, where farmers raise young cattle for slaughter. The company said the project aims to support breeding of meat breeds, enlarge the domestic stock of animals for fattening and contribute to sustainable growth in red meat production.
Ekmel Baydur, a member of the Migros Group marketing executive board, said the company believed that, given its scale, the farm would bring lasting value to Türkiye’s red meat production.
A major meat buyer
Migros is one of Türkiye’s biggest food retailers, operating supermarkets nationwide under brands including Migros and Macrocenter. According to the report, it sells about 40,000 tons of beef and lamb a year and sources around 600,000 sheep and goats and 100,000 cattle annually from producers across the country.
Why it matters
Red meat prices have risen sharply in Türkiye in recent years, driven in part by a shrinking supply of young cattle, high feed costs and the general rise in prices. The government has responded with imports of live animals and carcass meat through the state Meat and Milk Board, as well as support schemes for breeders.
Domestic breeding of beef-specific breeds is seen as one way to reduce reliance on imported animals. Much of Türkiye’s cattle herd consists of dairy or dual-purpose breeds, which produce less meat per animal than specialised beef breeds such as Angus and Hereford.
Aydın, located inland from the resort of Kuşadası, is one of Türkiye’s leading agricultural provinces, known for figs, olives, cotton and chestnuts, and has a sizeable livestock sector in its river valleys.
Large retailers have increasingly invested further up the supply chain in Türkiye, from fresh produce sourcing to own-brand manufacturing, as they try to secure supply and control costs amid persistent food inflation.
Sources
Photo: Quintin Soloviev / CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
