Turkey ‘set to cut share of food in inflation basket to ease consumer prices’

ANKARA

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The share of food prices in the inflation basket will be decreased from 24 to 20 percent by the end of the year to ease consumer price increases, Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci has said, daily Habertürk reported Oct. 17. 

The government recently restructured its food committee in line with its fight against stubbornly rising food prices, which have pushed up the inflation rate. 

The committee is now headed by Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek and is composed of all related ministers. The Central Bank is the secretary of the committee. 

Zeybekci noted that the share of food in the inflation basket of the Turkish Statistics Institute (TÜİK) needed to be decreased from 24 to 20 percent. 

He added that this would be achieved in the scope of yearly updates. 

Turkish food prices showed their biggest monthly drop seen in September after months of rising, bringing annual consumer inflation to the lowest level in over a year. 

The annual inflation rate dropped from 8.05 percent in August to 7.28 percent last month.

The new medium-term program raised forecasts for consumer price inflation in October. It predicts inflation of 7.5 percent at the end of this year and 6.5 percent in 2017, raising the forecast for next year from a previous 6 percent.

Ankara said it was determined to reduce inflation to a “low and sustainable level,” targeting 5 percent in 2018 and 2019.