CHP calls on chain markets not to raise prices

ANKARA

The main opposition party has called on chain markets to not raise prices and the government to issue interest-free loans to farmers in a bid to keep the food supply intact and uninterrupted before harsh winter conditions make life much more difficult to consumers.

“I demand the implementation of the following six items as soon as possible in order to address the growing problems in the kitchen of our people,” Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), said in a statement over the weekend after a meeting with the representatives of food producers.

The debts of the farmers to the banks and agricultural credit cooperatives due to unpaid loans should also be canceled and loan repayments should be delayed for six months, he suggested.

The farmers should be exempt from the added value tax from the diesel fuel they are using for agricultural purposes for six months and should be given more subsidies in the coming period, the CHP leader said.

Kılıçdaroğlu’s demands include the temporary cancellation of the 8 percent value added tax imposed on food products for the next six months so that the consumers can breathe a sigh of relief in the face of the rising inflation of the food prices.

He also called on all the municipalities to launch new campaigns to help people in need before the harsh winter conditions hit them both in terms of energy costs and food prices.

Kılıçdaroğlu also called on chain markets not to increase the prices on some basic food products during the winter. “I ask you to risk losing money on some products. But I assure that your losses will be certainly compensated when we come to power,” he said, naming these products as flour, oil, milk, pasta, egg, cheese, salt, lentil, bulgur and a type of vegetable each month.