By Gokhan Ergocun
ISTANBUL (AA) - Türkiye collected 5.27 million tons of cow milk in the first half of this year, the country's statistical authority announced on Wednesday.
Cow milk production increased by 3.6% year-on-year in the January-June period, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).
In the six-month period, 759,891 tons of drinking milk was produced, up 1.8% on an annual basis.
Data also showed that cheese production from cow's milk was up 8.4% on a yearly basis to 382,019 tons.
Türkiye also produced 565,887 tons of yogurt, almost 383,046 tons of ayran – a salty yogurt drink – and 46,416 tons of butter.
- Dairy trade
In the six-month period, Türkiye exported dairy products worth $196.6 million, down 49.04% on an annual basis, according to the National Milk Council data.
Meanwhile, the country's dairy imports posted an increase of 87.6% to $54.6 million over the same period.
Iraq, the US, and UAE were the top destinations for the exporters of Turkish dairy products.