Middlemen in target in move to curb food prices

Turan Yılmaz - ANKARA

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The government will reduce the number of large fresh fruit and vegetable markets in order to give room to fewer middlemen in a bid to cut food prices, Customs and Trade Minister Bülent Tüfenkci has stated.

Food prices have continued to be high, pushing up Turkey’s inflation rate, and officials believe that “some speculative moves” have played a key role in increasing prices. As a result, the government has revised its Food Committee in order to combat rising food prices.  

“Though a revision in the Large Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Markets Law, we will decrease the number of middlemen. There will not be such markets in all districts and towns. Rather, there will just be larger markets in cities. A product classification system will also be introduced,” Tüfenkci told reporters at parliament. 

He also noted that only around 52 percent of the fresh fruit and vegetable market was currently registered.

“With the new regulation, we want to surge this rate up to 80-85 percent,” he added. 

Tüfenkci said the main aim in decreasing the number of middlemen is to enable farmers to earn more. 

“Our research showed that 25 percent of fruits and vegetables are wasted over the course of the process, from their collection to storage. Another study has put this rate at 48 percent. These losses also constitute another factor that pushes up the prices,” he added.