Grocery shopping trips of two families highlight food inflation

Click to read the article in Turkish

Grocery prices are rapidly going up as the exchange rate of the US dollar hits 9.18 Turkish lira and the official inflation rate nears 20 percent.

Two families who shared the details of their grocery shopping with bianet complain about high costs. Here are the prices shared by the families of retired workers who live on a salary of 2,500 lira (~272 USD) each:

The family who shopped at a grocery chain and a bakery:

Tomato paste: 5.75 lira

Pita bread: 2.5 lira

Ciabatta bread: 2 lira

Fruit juice: 6.95 lira

Yoghurt: 13.95 ira

Cheese cracker sticks: 15 lira

Total: 46.15 lira

The family said there was a 2 lira discount in yoghurt.

The family who shopped at the district bazaar in İstanbul's Büyükada island:

Village bread: 10 lira

Four pieces of lavash bread: 10 lira

Apples (1kg): 10 lira

Grapes: 20 lira

Radish and lettuce: 15 lira

Kashar cheese: 50 lira

Grapes: 30 lira

Mushrooms (half a kilo): 15 lira

Hot green peppers (150 grams): 3 lira

Total: 163 lira

The second part of the shopping at the bazaar:

Bananas (half a kilo):

Grapes: 10 lira

Tomatoes (1kg): 15 lira

Parsley: 2 lira

Dill: 2 lira

Mandarin oranges: 6 lira

Lemons: 2 lira

Cucumbers (2 pieces): 8 lira

Spring onions: 6 lira

Total: 57 lira

"Let's go shopping together with Erdoğan"

Both families said they can't cook any meals with what they had bought as they were just "accessories."

"We have to live for a month with these salaries," they said.

Criticizing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who recently said workers and civil servants were happy that their salaries increased by 30 percent, higher than inflation, the families said, "We are not happy at all. Let the president come here and do shopping together with us." (HA/VK)