The Development of the Income-Generating Capacity of Turkey-Fattening in Hungary

Kálmán, Ákos – Erdős, Adél Dorottya – Kertész-Molnár, Szilvia – Szűcs, István – Szőllősi, László

Keywords: turkey sector, efficiency, cost-income, model calculation, Hungarian case study JEL: D24, M11, Q12

Nowadays turkey-production must face many challenges arising from global economic processes, as well as the difficulties of livestock farming and its biological characteristics. Although turkey meat is a popular source of protein due to its favourable content, its demand has decreased globally, mainly due to the decline of the HORECA (hotels, restaurants, cafes) sector. The objective of this study is the economic examination of the Hungarian-turkey meat production sector. In the research, a “virtual farm”, producing turkey in line with good practice was modelled, for which a deterministic simulation model was used. The “virtual farm” essentially reflects those belonging to the top quartile of farms operating in the country, rather than the national average. The time horizon of the calculation refers to the beginning of 2022, so the results can also be interpreted with input and output prices at that time. Under the fixed conditions, the cost of producing one kilogram of live turkey was HUF 575 in the examined period. The material costs are nearly 90% of the production costs, which are determined by the cost of feed. The production value of turkey-production was HUF 479 per kilogram of live weight, including the horizontal subsidies available to the sector. Based on the model, turkey production is unprofitable even in line with good practice in the examined economic environment. Improvement of the income situation can only be expected in the case of higher sales prices or lower costs (e.g. the decline of feed prices).