As the first step of its new investment, Tarım Kredi expects to increase the plant’s daily milk processing capacity from its current 80 tons to 250 tons. The cooperative plans to buy unprocessed milk daily from dairies in the provinces of Ankara, Eskişehir, Kütahya, Bilecik, Afyon, Burdur, Sakarya and Kayseri -- the milk supply hub of Turkey -- expecting that the ailing business will pick up. Hoping to soon introduce the milk and milk products from its new Eskişehir facility to the market, Tarım Kredi plans to increase its daily milk processing capacity to up to 400 tons in the long run. Evaluating the new investment, Tarım Kredi General Manager Bedrettin Yıldırım said on Monday that they expected to contribute to rejuvenation in the sector.
Yıldırım said dairy farmers have long asked Tarım Kredi to enter the business, which was one of the reasons they decided to buy the Eskişehir plant. Yıldırım asserted he believed their intervention would stabilize the market to some extent. “We will fuel competition in the market. Our plant will introduce fine quality milk products to customers,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Independent Milk Platform announced Monday that its members across Turkey would commence a 15-day strike unless milk providers reach a compromise over the minimum sales price with companies following a meeting in the western province of Balıkesir. Recent price hikes in red meat have led to problems in the dairy market, with milk providers now demanding that prices rise following the increasing cost of feed and other production inputs. Milk providers said they would not accept any price lower than Kr 85 per kilogram of milk, noting that 1 kilo of feed is now Kr 60.
