Inflation in Turkey: when life is too expensive

In Turkey, prices are rising so rapidly that many of the simplest everyday goods can no longer afford them. Solidarity with one another is vital. Displeasure with the government is increasing. Meanwhile the economy is growing.

Germany is struggling with inflation of just under four percent. In Turkey it is just under 20 percent. Food has become 30 percent more expensive within a year, rents in Istanbul have almost doubled, report the Turkish media. The tourist season, which was supposed to bring relaxation, did not meet the expectations of many.

Ahu rushes up the mountain in an Istanbul working-class district. She has to go to her next job cleaning. But she wants to get rid of that after all: “The economic situation is shitty. You don’t have to talk about it for long. Prices rise every week, every week! In the supermarket, everywhere! You change 100 lira today and they go away as if they were ten. That’s why I only buy everything in small quantities and less often. ”

30 cents profit per 30 eggs

Habib’s little grocery store is a few blocks away. Toilet paper, canned food and pasta are piled up to the ceiling. White bread is on the shelf, next to it is pallets with eggs:

A pallet costs 28 lira for me – that’s quite cheap. I buy the pallet myself for 25 lira from wholesalers. I earn three tired liras off it. The consequence? Anyone who used to buy 10 eggs now only buys seven.

Converted to 30 cents profit per 30 eggs. He doesn’t even dare to raise the prices significantly. Habib has to hear a lot from his customers:

I get scared because the prices are rising all the time. And for that they blame me. The allegations should be directed at the politicians. What should I do? If I buy more expensively myself, I also have to sell more expensively myself.

Lira in crisis

He also serves a woman with two little girls. One took shower from a box in front of the cash register. The woman asks what it costs. When Habib mentions the price, she puts it back. Finally she digs out a few more coins and buys them.

Kamuran sits in front of his small carpenter’s workshop and treats himself to a glass of tea with a friend. The muezzin’s reputation leaves him unimpressed. The 46-year-old complains:

That can’t be true – alcohol and cigarettes have become so expensive. That really wears us out. I’m going to have a beer and they’ll charge 20 lira. What does a day laborer earn? 80 or 100 lira a day. If the three of them have beers and buy a pack of cigarettes, all the money is gone. He works for a whole day to do this. Shouldn’t he even be able to afford a beer in the evening to relax?

The lira has lost massively in value in recent years. Kamuran processes material that partly comes from abroad and is therefore becoming more and more expensive. “I currently have 16,000 lira in debt on my credit card. I can’t contribute much to the household budget. All I can do is bring bread, eggs, milk and the like. I don’t rent a house. If that weren’t the case – we could not keep us afloat. “

Meanwhile, record growth in economic growth

Natural gas and electricity have increased by around 120 percent in Turkey in the last three years, reports Turkish media, food alone by 30 percent within one year. Rents in Istanbul are exploding right now.

The government, the politicians are to blame. Who else? Definitely not the citizens. The currency policy, the decline in the value of the Turkish lira. I’ve been to other countries too. I haven’t seen anything like this anywhere.

Meanwhile, the Turkish statistical office reports a record increase in economic growth of almost 22 percent for the second quarter compared to the previous year, the pandemic year. According to official figures, the unemployment rate is twelve percent. Almost one in four young people has no job.

Solidarity is vital

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan proudly proclaims: “The employment figures are even better today than before the pandemic. Hopefully we will get inflation under control in the shortest possible time and prevent usurious prices and extreme price increases in the supermarkets. By fighting against cost increases and against usurers we will advance the prosperity of our citizens even further. ”

In Istanbul’s working-class district, an old beggar woman is torturing herself up the mountain. “A little help, please! In God’s name! Please, please ..! In God’s name!” She stops in front of a box of nectarines that no longer look fresh. She wants to know what they cost. Nothing, they’re for nothing, says the dealer. He who can give gives. Solidarity among the Turks is almost vital for some people these days.