Companies fined over exorbitant prices, stockpiling

ANKARA

The Trade Ministry has imposed fines on 21 supermarket chains and companies amounting to 9.4 million Turkish Liras over exorbitant prices they charge and engaging in stockpiling.

A board under the roof of the ministry, which assesses unfair price practices, convened for the seventh time this year to evaluate price increases in staple goods, including milk, egg, pasta and yogurt, as well as cleaning materials.

The board looked into the results of the inspections that officials from the ministry carried out across the country at local and national supermarkets and other companies.

Following the meeting, the board decided to impose administrative fines of a total of 9.4 million liras on 21 companies, which the board concluded increased the prices excessively and engaged in stockpiling.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Unfair Price Assessment Board, tasked with ensuring the healthy working of the free market, has been inspecting whether companies complied with the value-added tax reductions in a wide range of products, including diapers, fruits, vegetables, bread and cleaning materials by carrying out thousands of checks on stores and online marketplaces.

To date, as a result of those inspections, fines amounting to 56.6 million liras have been imposed on establishments over exorbitant price increases and stockpiling practices.