While general inflation is 19.58 percent, food inflation is 28.79 percent, and the food prices in the bazaar, market and market are also increasing the fire in the kitchen. According to the Presidential Annual Program for the Year 2022, against the high prices in food, "an early warning system will be established that will allow healthy supply and yield forecasts in agricultural products", "product surveillance mechanism" will be implemented, where price fluctuations in food products will be closely monitored"!
Although solutions(!) such as the "early warning system" and "product surveillance mechanism", which are constantly on the agenda due to the exorbitant increases in food prices, are put forward, increasing producer costs are not mentioned for some reason. However, the increase in cost items such as fertilizers, pesticides and diesel, faced by farmers, is worrying.
Will food prices go down like this?
Although the early warning system has been constantly on the agenda in recent years, no steps have been taken, and the high prices of food continued. According to the Presidential Annual Program for 2022, necessary arrangements will be made in logistics and storage areas in order to reduce the pressure of food prices on inflation, and the institutional infrastructure of a regional and product-based planning in agriculture will be implemented. Cold storage chains that will minimize seasonal price fluctuations will be supported. An “early warning system” will be established that will enable reliable supply and yield forecasts for agricultural products, and a “product surveillance mechanism” will be implemented, where price fluctuations in food products will be closely monitored using big data and advanced analytical methods.
NO MENTION OF AGRICULTURAL COSTS
According to the data of TURKSTAT for August, the Agricultural Input Price Index increased by 28.74 percent on an annual basis. The highest annual increase was in fertilizers with 66.71 percent, followed by farm buildings (non-residential) with 45.67 percent and building maintenance costs with 44.57 percent. When these increases in costs are added to the turbulent course in the exchange rate, it is not realistic to expect food prices to settle down with various systems and mechanisms.