Kars stands out in animal husbandry with its vast pastures and plateaus, and the kashar and gruyère cheeses produced from the milk obtained in this natural environment are protected by geographical indication registration.
Provincial Director of Agriculture and Forestry Enver Aydın noted that approximately 44 percent of the city's land assets consist of pastures and plateaus, with over 1,600 plant species found in these areas, 70 to 100 of which are endemic.
"The aromatic properties of these plants pass into the milk, and the kashar and gruyère produced from this milk become some of our country's most valuable and aromatically distinctive products," Aydın said.
Aydın stated that an average of 18,600 to 19,000 tons of kashar and gruyère are produced annually at 66 milk and dairy product enterprises approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in the city, and these products reach almost every region of Turkey.
Aydın recalled that Kars kashar received geographical indication registration in 2015, and in 2024, Kars gruyère was also registered by the Turkish Patent Institute. "We have applied for the European Union geographical indication registration for Kars kashar. We are working to have kashar gain value on a global scale," he said.
Cheese producer Engin Kesgin stated that they have been producing kashar, gruyère, göbek cheese, and butter since 1966, noting that they prepare their products from the milk of animals grazing on the plateau.