Turkish food price increases, which have driven inflation this year, will continue to rise at a similar pace, said Hüseyin Demirtaş, the head of the Turkish Agriculturists’ Association (TZD).
An acceleration in annual producer price inflation for food is likely to be reflected on consumer prices with a delay, exacerbated by lower crop yields, Demirtaş said, Cumhuriyet newspaper reported on Wednesday.
“Food and agricultural products will increase at roughly the same rate in the upcoming period,” he said. “This year, we can say that basic foodstuffs such as meat, milk, bread, pasta, vegetable oil will lead the hike wave, especially considering the drought-related yield declines in cereals, pulses and oil crops, as well as the problems experienced in animal husbandry and milk production.”
Turkey’s consumer price inflation rate rose to 19.9 percent annually in October, the highest level since the aftermath of a currency crisis that struck three years ago, from 19.6 percent in September. Producer price inflation accelerated to 46.3 percent from 44 percent.
The central bank began cutting interest rates in September, exacerbating concerns about high inflation in Turkey. Interest rates stand at 16 percent compared with a previous 19 percent. The rate cuts have led to losses for the lira, which has declined by about 24 percent against the dollar this year.
The lira traded down 0.6 percent at 9.78 per dollar on Wednesday, close to a record low of 9.85 per dollar reached in late October.
Ahval