Turkey production costs rise 15% in 2023

The turkey industry experienced a “perfect storm” in 2023—a series of price challenges that increased production costs by an average of 13% to 15% compared to 2022, the National Turkey Producers Association said. At the same time, consumer demand for turkey MEAT remained and even grew.

There were several reasons for the increase in costs, the association explained. Thus, a big surprise was the crisis in the labor market, which forced salaries in the industry to be raised by almost a third in order to attract personnel. Also, the exchange rate between the euro and the US DOLLAR increased by 27% , and complex logistics and parallel imports of equipment and consumables led to an increase in prices by another 40-60%. Vaccines have increased in price by an average of 17%, but for some items by 70–100%. The cost of purchasing hatching eggs also increased by 27%. Prices for premixes and feed additives increased , up to 18%, and in the case of soy protein - up to 20%.

The production of highly processed products has also become more expensive: spices, functional additives, crackers, aromatics have become more expensive from 9 to 71%, and on average by 17%. Tariffs for electricity and gas increased, and the increase in prices for transport services exceeded 30% and became a serious problem for the industry, as it affected everything from the delivery of raw materials to the delivery of finished products.

Experts expect that the cost of turkey production will continue to rise in 2024 and are counting on government support.