Gov’t determined to fight inflation: Minister

ANKARA

Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati has reiterated the government’s commitment to bring inflation under control and take necessary steps.

“Inflation is our common problem. We are well aware that our people are having problems due to high inflation. We do not overlook those problems,” Nebati wrote on Twitter on May 5 after the official data on the April inflation was released.

The Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) reported on May 5 that consumer prices increased by 7.25 percent in April from March.

The annual inflation rate, consequently, climbed from 61.1 percent in March to 69.97 percent last month.

Nebati noted that inflation has been on the rise globally due to the supply chain problems and the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war.

The minister stressed that apart from unfavorable global developments, inflation in Turkey is running high because of the exchange rates but the volatility in exchange rates has been brought under control and the financial markets have stabilized thanks to the measures the government has taken, such as the FX-protected deposit scheme.

As part of the efforts in the fight against inflation, the government cut value-added tax on certain products and services and officials have been conducting price inspections, Nebati added.

“The new ‘Product Monitoring System,’ which is designed to observe prices and prevent stockpiling will yield results shortly,” the minister said.

Despite the problems stemming from inflation, the Turkish economy is performing well in other fields, such as exports, creating jobs and production, Nebati said.