Prices for vegetables and fruits in Turkey generally decrease during season of summer due to the an increase in supply. This year however it has been the opposite as prices are still at a high level. The reason for this is two main causes: the effects of climate change on drought that has impacted Turkey’s output in agriculture and the growth in costs for farmers. In the supermarkets the cucumbers and tomatoes are sold at around 40 or 50 Turkish Liras for a kilogram, and the prices of grapes and cherries are 100 liras for each kilogram. Even the most expensive fruits sell for less than 50 lire per kilo.

Remzi Suicmez is the President of the Agriculture Engineers’ Chambers (ZMO) and a leading expert on the effect of the extreme heat on this year’s crop that is far superior to previous problems. Furthermore, rising transportation costs and diesel fuel add to the pressure. Suicmez pointed out a 30 percent decrease in production of cereals within the Central Anatolian region and pointed on the possibility of losses in transportation that can also lead to increased supermarket costs.

In the southern region of Adana Extreme temperatures have negatively affected the yields of watermelon, melons, and tomato harvests. wineries in Manisa’s western region of Manisa have also been affected. Semsi Bayraktar, the head of the Agriculturalists Association of Turkey (TZOB) stated that the drought is forcing farmers to boost irrigation, despite the cost of irrigation rising. In addition, the costs of vital farming tools including fertilizers as well as diesel fuel, have witnessed major increases. For instance, diesel costs alone increasing by 78.5 percent per year.

Customers such as Ayten Gurel have been feeling the pinch. She saw her daily market costs for fruits and vegetables increasing from 500 to 600 dollars last year and up to 800 liras this year. In June, the fresh fruit and vegetable prices recorded an increase of 6 percent from month to month which contributed to an overall cost of inflation that was 78.6 percent in these products as per the Central Bank.

[ 10 Liras = EUR0.28 ]

Source: hurriyetdailynews.com