As plans to export 500,000 tons of poultry to Russia annually have failed, the sector is now looking to expand into regional markets such as Iran and Iraq, reports Today's Zaman.

Turkish poultry producers increased their output by between five and 10 per cent this year as they were hoping to sell their product to Russia. However, these plans turned out to be unsuccessful as Russia reached an agreement with the US to import poultry.

Poultry Meat Producers and Poulterers Association (BESD-BIR) President, Zuhal Dastan, speaking to the Anatolia news agency yesterday, said the extra poultry produced for Russia was put on the domestic market. The sector is now concentrating on Iran, she said, predicting that exports to Iran will start shortly.

She said: "Negotiations are continuing with Iran but they will start buying soon."

The sector also sells 5,000 to 6,000 tons of poultry to Iraq each month.

Ms Dastan explained: "They are keen on buying Turkish poultry regardless of its comparatively high price because our chickens are butchered according to halal standards."

The Turkish poultry sector sent its first shipment of exports to Russia on 7 July, she said, predicting it would also be the last. The Russians opted not to import poultry from Turkey because they found it too expensive compared to US poultry, which can be bought at $1.45 per kilogram, Ms Dastan said. The promotional price for one kilogram of Turkish poultry, on the other hand, is $1.65, which increases when shipping costs are included.

Hasim Gürdamar, CEO of Sen Piliç, also said that there is a great demand from Iran for Turkish poultry, according to Today's Zaman.

He said: "If we can sell 10 per cent of our total production to Iran, it will be a great relief for the sector."