Turkey’s municipalities to sell fruit and vegetables

Local authorities in Turkey are to start selling vegetables and fruits to combat the country’s food inflation. Speaking at an event organised by the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TİM), finance minister, Berat Albayrak, identified inflation as one of the vulnerabilities of the Turkish economy and said the government is fighting with determination. According to the latest official data, food prices increased by 6.4% in January from the previous month, and the annual increase was 30.7%. Last month, fresh vegetable and fruit prices jumped 29.7% on a monthly basis, while the annual rise for those items was 64%.

Meanwhile, state-run bank Ziraat Bankasi will unveil a package designed to support greenhouse farming, with loans at low interest rates subsidies. “With this support, we will witness the fast transformation [of greenhouse farming]. Geothermal resources will be used in an effective way to that end. The state, which will also play an active role in this field, will become a strategic investor in greenhouse farming,” Albayrak said.