Turks are grumbling and decrying that the Turkish lira is useless during these times when consumer products and services’ prices soar.
This development happened as the inflation rate in Turkey reached approximately 80 percent at a 24-year-high this month.
Foreign exchange experts explained that the economic consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Turkish lira’s continued decline had fueled this hyperinflation rate.
Sustained cost surges have further eroded the Turkish households’ purchasing power. We understand that the world economy at this time is undergoing a crisis, with skyrocketing inflation rates adversely affecting many nations, including Turkey.
We want to help our readers, especially those holding Turkish lira units, stay updated, so we are posting this news on our portal.
According to the Monday, August 29, 2022 news posted online by Borneo Bulletin Online, a newspaper in Brunei Darussalam and Sarawak and Sabah, Malaysia, surging consumer costs have hit 84 million Turkish citizens despite the Turkish government’s efforts.
Researchers from Istanbul-based think tank Yoneylem Social Research Center conducted a poll recently. They discovered that 69.3 percent of Turks are struggling to pay for food as prices soar.
Additionally, the researchers found that more than 53 percent of Turkish respondents remarked that their everyday expenses could not cover their important demands.
The Turkish Consumer Rights Association conducted a survey recently. This local non-government organization’s researchers found that 90 percent of the Turkish population already lives below the poverty line.
Cemil Direkci is the Main Fuel Distributors Association’s vice president. He told media reporters last Friday, August 26, 2022 that increasing fuel prices are expected to bring the costs of common goods, which are mainly foodstuffs, to a significant surge.
Local media in Turkey reported a diesel oil price increase for two consecutive weeks was projected to further push the living costs upwards in the country.
At the time of writing this foreign exchange news, US$1 is equivalent to 18.15 Turkish liras, per the foreign exchange conversion website Xe.com.
Sexagenarian pensioner Nevin Gungor said they no longer purchase meat and dairy products due to hyperinflation.
She affirmed that she is vitamin-deficient and does not anticipate the bleak scenario in Turkey turning better in the near future.
Thrift shop owner Tuncay Yuksel remarked that his family has crossed off food products like dairy and meat in their grocery lists because of these commodities’ increasing prices since 2022 began.
This Ankara resident relayed that everything had become more expensive, and the Turkish citizens’ purchasing power had considerably dropped.
Yuksel said some people could not afford to purchase their basic needs. Homemaker Fatma Eren pointed out that they could not make ends meet.
She complained about the skyrocketing food prices. Eren said she sees new prices every time she goes grocery shopping.
Like Gungor and Yuksel, she confirmed that she had to reduce the number of items she buys over time as they have become very expensive.
Meanwhile, chestnut peddler Abbas Karabenli does not complain despite the hyperinflation in Turkey. This 39-year-old Ulus resident said he is fine as long as he can work and provide for his family.
After all, Karabenli remarked that inflation is on the rise in most nations these days. We feel dismal for the Turkish people because they cannot get more value from spending with their local currency, the Turkish lira, to purchase their basic needs.
We think hyperinflation in Turkey and the rising inflation rates in most countries today are dehumanizing as they deprive the people of the essentials, especially food.
We hope the Turkish government will work harder to implement measures that will rescue the Turkish lira and, above all, the Turkish consumers from hyperinflation’s repercussions.