Turkish companies have made first export of poultry to Russia after Russia's veterinary authority lifted in February this year a ban on Turkish chicken, reports World Bulletin.

Turkey's Banvit and the Calkan Group, one of Russia's biggest meat providers, said they had sold 20 tons of chicken in a highly competitive market.

Calkan Group chairman, Mustafa Calkan, said Russia gave Turkey a quota of 50 to 60 tons as part of a group of exporter countries with a total of a quota of 150,000 tons.

He added that Turkish companies fell behind their foreign rivals in Russia in terms of competitive power due to their high production costs.

"The current price is around US$2,000 per ton, yet the costs of Turkish companies totals as high as $2,800 per ton," Mr Calkan said.