The food crisis, which started with the pandemic and exacerbated by the war between Russia and Ukraine, forced the citizens to set the table.
The middle class citizen, who has difficulty in boiling pots, will have much more difficulty in setting up an iftar table this year.
This year, it has become almost impossible for the citizens, whose purchasing power has decreased, to get enough of the fast-breaking meal.
With the daily changes in food prices, the purchasing power of the citizen, whose purchasing power is decreasing day by day, also affects the iftar tables in Ramadan.
With the price increases, even being able to set very modest tables such as soup, meatballs, meat dishes with vegetables, salads, yogurt and ayran makes it necessary to make huge expenditures.
With the cost of setting up an iftar table in Ramadan last year, the prices of products to be used in an iftar table to be set up in Ramadan this year increased by approximately 100 percent.
EVEN THE COST OF THE SOUP HAS BEEN DOUBLED
Ramadan pita, which is an indispensable part of Ramadan tables, will be sold for 6 TL this year, while 275 grams of it was sold at 3 TL last year in Ankara.
Dates, whose weight was sold at 80 TL last year, were sold for 145 TL this year, while olives, whose weight was sold at 28.5 TL last year, increased to 45.2 TL this year.
Bulgur, which was sold for 5.9 TL per kilo last year, is 12 TL this year, while yoghurt is sold for 13 TL from 7.8 TL, and green lentils, which were sold for 9 TL last year, are sold for 22 TL this year.
While half a kilo of Güllac, which is identified with the month of Ramadan, was sold for 30 TL last year, it is sold for 70 TL this year.
The cost of soup, which is another indispensable meal of Ramadan tables, has also increased. While lentil soup cost 10 TL last year, it costs 20 TL this year.
Pastry, which is the main meal of the sahur tables, cost 20 TL last year, but now it has increased to 50 TL.
INSUFFICIENT AGAINST THE DETERMINED FITRA COSTS
The Presidency of Religious Affairs, affiliated to the Presidency of Religious Affairs, announced the amount of fitra for 2022. The fitre fee, determined by the Presidency and given to cover a person's daily meals, was announced as 40 TL.
Despite the exorbitant price increases, the average cost of a table set for iftar is 170 TL, while a citizen who wants to have iftar in a restaurant has to pay an average of 220 TL. The determined fitre fee is well below the costs.
RAMADAN SOX ALSO AFFECTED BY HIGH PRICES
The Ramadan parcel, which was given to those in need, also got its share from the increase in food prices. Last year, Ramadan parcels containing a kilo of oil, a kilo of beans, a kilo of lentils, a kilo of sugar, a kilo of bulgur, half a kilo of tomato paste, two pieces of pasta, a kilo of barley vermicelli, half a kilo of flour, half a kilo of salt, and half a kilo of tea were delivered last year. While it is sold for 80 TL, this year the same parcel is sold for 200 TL.