The increases in food prices in 2024 further increased the livelihood difficulties of citizens.
Milli Gazete, which is the closest follower of the course of the country's economy, carried out the basic food purchasing power control, which it carries out every year by going to the field, in the light of current data.
Although it is not certain, we recorded the current market prices before the minimum wage increase planned for July.
In the news we made in March 2023, we observed that while 2 kilograms of olive oil were 179 TL, this year 2 kilograms of the same olive oil were offered for sale for 445 TL.
These price increases, which occur every other day for basic food products, not only reduce the quality of life of citizens, but also cause many health problems as citizens turn to poor quality food.
THE INCREASES ARE REFLECTED IN MARKET PRICES.
According to current figures, 1 package of chicken, 3 kilograms of yoghurt, 30 eggs, 1 liter of milk, 5 liters of sunflower oil, 2 liters of olive oil, 1 kilogram of beans, 1 kilogram of bulgur, 1 kilogram of red lentils, half a kilogram of pasta, 1 kilogram of While the cost of a grocery purchase consisting of rice, 5 kilograms of flour and 2 kilograms of granulated sugar reflected in the citizen's pocket was 1488.50 TL, last year the amount of the same purchase was 738 TL.
While 55 bottles of 2 kilograms of olive oil can be purchased with the current minimum wage of 10 thousand 8 TL in March 2023, 38 bottles of the same olive oil can be purchased with the current minimum wage of 17 thousand 2 TL.
For years, the increases in the market prices, immediately following the increases in the minimum wage, continue to burden the citizens.
THERE WAS A HUGE HUMP ON THE BACKS OF THE CITIZENS
The decreasing purchasing power of basic food products brings with it many problems.
As a matter of fact, citizens begin to experience health problems by having to buy poor quality products in places they cannot afford financially.
While even chicken meat is now barely consumed on tables where red meat is longed for, it is incomprehensible that our citizens are suffering so much in our production-oriented and fertile geography.
The current economic situation also reveals the harms of policies aimed at consumption, not policies aimed at production.
The fact that the consumption-based policies that have been going on for years have not yielded beneficial results is evident from the huge hump on the shoulders of the citizens.
MORE THAN THE POSSIBLE INCREASE RATE WILL BE REFLECTED ON THE POCKETS
According to uncertain information, while there were expectations for an 18 percent increase in the minimum wage in July, citizens began to wonder how much of this increase would remain in their pocket.
The situation that causes these thoughts is the steep price hikes imposed on products in every field, especially in the food industry, right after the increase in the minimum wage for many years.
Watching the same negative scenario for years creates a sad situation for low-income citizens, while the increase in citizens' salaries comes out way behind.
Last year, we drew attention to the exorbitant increases in chicken prices with our news titled "Chicken meat is now a luxury."
Due to the wrong steps taken in economic management, low-income citizens even longed for chicken meat on their table.
While a whole package of chicken was 44.25 TL per kilogram in 2023, this year it increased by almost 100 percent to 73.75 TL, while 5 liters of sunflower oil was 147 TL, it increased by around 70 percent to 229 TL, and a 5 kilogram package of flour is 57 TL.
Many of the legumes such as beans, lentils, rice and bulgur have increased by at least 50 percent.