TURKEY
Kilic Holding focuses more strongly on exports
Looking outwards for growth Kilic Holding is among Turkey’s biggest 500 companies, an honour held by only three other companies in the aquaculture sector. Fully integrated, the group has its own production of fingerlings, fish feed mills, on-growing sites, processing facilities, sales and marketing, and even the manufacture of eps (expanded polystyrene) boxes to store and transport the fish.
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ith four production sites offering a total capacity of over 270m Kilic Holding has the largest production of seabass and seabream juveniles in the world. Seabass and seabream juveniles are the main species produced but smaller quantities of juveniles from other species, including meagre, striped seabream, red seabream, and grouper are also grown. The vast number of juveniles are used for the in-house production of market-sized seabass and seabream, but they are also sold to other farmers for on-growing. Increasingly, the company is also exporting the juveniles to producers in other countries. As production of juveniles has increased over the years so has the tonnage of market-sized fish. Today the company has a production of 30,000 tonnes up from 20,000 tonnes four years ago, says Murat Bakirci, the CEO since 2010 and architect of the company’s strategic orientation to overseas markets.
Rebalancing export markets The focus on export markets has completely changed the company’s sales profile. Four years ago exports were about 40 of the tonnage, says Mr Bakirci, while today the export tonnage is about 70 and the export value exceeds 70. Exposure to the different countries has also changed. Nothing was exported to Russia and the Ukraine and even the US www.eurofishmagazine.com
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and the Middle East were virtually non-existent as markets. On the other hand Italy was absorbing 76 of all exports. Now all that has changed. Italy has gone down to 20, instead Russia is picking up 21, the UK 5, Spain 7, the Netherlands 9, the US is a small but growing market and even in Ukraine, despite the political situation, Kilic sold 1,000 tonnes of fish in 2013. The margins come from the exports, he declares, on the domestic market you cannot push the volume and you cannot push the price. You can spend millions on advertising without knowing the end result. The rebalancing of markets has led the company to pursue the potential it sees in the Middle East, the US, and Russia, where the last four years have seen regular growth. Sales to Europe are growing by 6-8 and to Russia by about 10, while production tonnage is increasing by 10-12 a year.
Working to increase domestic fish consumption Activities on the different markets have been reorganised either for greater efficiencies or in response to external events. For example, Italy is no longer the major distribution hub it used to be, and the company has had to respond to conditions in Syria, which have had an impact on distribution both within Syria and to other parts of the Middle East. While sales have been growing on export
Countries in the Middle East and North Africa are new potential markets, but some are also seeking Kilic’s expertise to develop their own aquaculture industries, says Murat Bakirci, Chief Executive Officer, Kilic Holding.
markets, at home they have been flat, something Mr Bakirci attributes to Turkey being a predominantly meat-eating nation. The company is working to increase sales within Turkey, but it is a long haul. Essentially, per capita consumption of fish has to increase and efforts to do this need to be co-ordinated with the government to get the best results as the country is too big and too diverse for any single company to do it alone. But efforts are underway. Thirty years ago chicken at any retail outlet in Turkey was sold as a whole bird, today it is possible to get portions, wings, for example, or chicken breasts, or legs, or other pieces, in a package. It is not necessary to buy the whole bird any longer. This is the future for fish too. Although in Turkey there is resistance to the idea of buying fish in a package, but the advantages are becoming clearer at least
to younger generations of Turks. Fish packaged in modified atmosphere is healthy, hygienic, has a longer shelf life, and above all, is convenient. Women are joining the work force in increasing numbers, but are still overwhelmingly responsible for domestic chores as well. The ability to save time when preparing meals is something to which many can relate. To promote the consumption of fish companies are therefore working with the Turkish seafood promotion committee. They are also investing in social programmes and working with NGO’s to encourage, for example, school children to eat fish. And they are using social media to spread the word too. Unlike producers of many other products fish farmers can credibly claim that eating fish is actually good for one, so by disseminating their message to eat Eurofish Magazine 2/ 2014
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05/04/14 5:48 PM