Food prices in Turkey are rising uncontrollably
During the last couple of years the increase in food prices is one of the most sensitive topics in country’s economic and political agenda. Especially, since the beginning of last summer the food prices were rising almost uncontrollably. According to official data, the price increase was 30%, but traders say that prices have doubled in just one year.
Although President Erdogan blames the big supermarkets chains about the unfair price hikes, the structural problems in country’s agriculture sector, rising oil and fertilizer prices and heavy drought during the last 2 years are also the part of the reasons why food inflation increased dramatically. But economists also point to government policy decisions which saw the Turkish Lira dive to record lows last year, hiking import costs on some $9 billion in food.
Turkey has a long to-do list for solving her structural problems in agriculture sector.The biggest challenge for the Turkish agriculture sector is reducıng the input costs for the Turkish producers and to establish effective agricultural support system which farmers will be in a position to receive an predictable income. The biggest input costs of the Turkish growers are feed/feed additives, fertilizer and diesel.