INTERVIEW 48 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE July 2022 to both crises, faces serious problems with the supply of raw materials and pricing. Added to this are changing consumer demands and expectations. Ugur Kumbet: Although the internet has become an extremely valuable and remarkable means of communication in this process, the effect of face-to-face communication is always different. That is why this event in Turkey is so important for us. We wanted to use this opportunity to experience Istanbul and to share our ideas in a multicultural atmosphere. Here, we first brought our own international team together. In this way, we not only had the opportunity to meet our newest team members, whom we recruited through online interviews, but also strengthened their communication by establishing a good rapprochement between our colleagues. The same goes for our business partners. We wanted to take this opportunity to strengthen our business relationships and to share our experiences, visions and knowledge. Can you tell us a little about the participants of the event? Who attended your event and what did you convey to them during the seminar? Ugur Kumbet: We hosted representatives of the poultry industry from 25 countries in the India, Middle East and Africa (IMEA) region. We had about 150 participants from different fields of the sector, ranging from feed producers to animal nutrition specialists, from meat and egg producers to veterinarians and consultants. During the meeting, we shared information on very critical issues, ranging from intestinal health to raw material quality, from alternative protein sources to feed prices, from respiratory health to trace minerals. We have put our proven concepts in this context: With products such as our new-generation probiotic or our glycinated trace minerals, to name just a few, we can address these issues and of course wanted to take the opportunity to present our latest technical updates. So, if we continue with your seminar title, what are the challenges encountered in poultry production today? Ugur Kumbet: Currently the biggest problem which we see in the industry is the cost factor. The global situation of raw material shortage and sharp price increases is exceptional. Even though we are hopeful that this situation will eventually normalize again, and prices will stabilize at reasonable levels, cost optimization is currently more important than ever. Dr. Alexander Grafe: My personal view is that we should use our resources in the world very carefully and responsibly because they are not infinite. Therefore, no matter which raw material or which feed additive we use, the main thing is to balance them correctly. This applies to antibiotics, probiotics, phosphorus or trace minerals. We can overcome difficulties not by overusing them, but by using them prudently. At this point, communication between nutritionists and veterinarians needs to be optimized. Because the solution to the problems lies in the correct formulation, and cooperation is essential for this. And the sooner we start doing this, the faster we will move on. Ugur Kumbet: Another significant, albeit more long-term, issue in the IMEA region that we can observe is related to the heavy use of antibiotics, both in feed and in water, for treatment and growth promotion. This needs to be reduced for the known reasons. Veterinarians, nutritionists and feed producers need to work together on important issues such as pathogen reduction and health improvement. Veterinarians in the field are oftentimes faced with high pathogen pressure and are therefore forced to administer antibiotic treatments via the water. In addition, most countries in the Middle East, the Indian
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