Turkey collects over 730,000 tons of cow milk in Sept

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkey collected 730,516 tons cow milk in September, the country's statistical authority announced on Wednesday.

Cow milk production dropped by 7.3% year-on-year in the month, TurkStat said in a statement.

In September, 112,983 tons of drinking milk was produced, down 5.2% from the same month last year.

Data also showed that cheese production from cow’s milk fell 4.6% on an annual basis to 55,486 tons.

"Cheese production from sheep, goat, buffalo and mixed milk was 2,120 tonnes increased by 20.9% when compared to the same month of the previous year," it added.

In October, Turkey also produced 101,449 tons of yogurt, 65,045 tons of the salty yogurt drink, ayran, 5,839 tons of milk powder, 5,290 tons of butter, and 2,596 tons of cream.

- Dairy exports rise 15% in 9 months

In the January-September period, the country collected 7.3 million tons of cow milk, down from 7.74 million tons in the same period last year.

During the first nine months of 2019, Turkey exported dairy products worth $274.65 million, up 15% on an annual basis, according to the National Milk Council data.

Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were the top destinations for Turkish dairy products exporters in the same period.

Last year, over 10 million tons of cow's milk was produced in Turkey, with 1.66 million tons of drinking milk production.