People, shopkeepers complain about high prices as Ramadan begins

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Muslims' holy month of Ramadan has begun amid high price increases in basic food products like oil, sugar and meat.

Yüksekova Haber, a local news outlet based in the Yüksekova district of the predominantly Kurdish populated province of Hakkari, one of the four lowest-income provinces in Turkey, interviewed shopkeepers and people in the city.

While people complained about high prices, shopkeepers were not happy with the decreased sales.

"Everything is expensive. For example, we would buy pide [a traditional Ramadan bread] for 3 lira last year; now it's 7 lira. May God help the people. We would buy [a kilo of] red meat for 60 lira last year; now it's 110 lira. The situation will be bad if it continues like this," said one person.

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"People go home hungry. They sleep hungry, they wake up hungry. This is an observable fact. A family of four can't make a living. Every year, we miss the previous year. Last year, I would buy red meat for 45-50 lira. Now it's about 120 lira. There is nothing to say," said another.

Another one complained about price increases during Ramadan, saying, "Everyone is taking advantage of everything. People may take advantage of a holy month, a month of solidarity, as well. But it should be the exact opposite."

Even the prices of vegetables like banana peppers and lettuce were so high that they had to buy them in very small quantities, said other people interviewed.

A butcher said, "There was a 48 percent increase in meat prices. We haven't implemented this yet. We have increased by 20 percent. Prices increase all the time ... People come and ask for prices, then just leave."

A çiğ köfte (an appetizer made of meat or bulgur wheat) seller said they had to serve the food without greens in order not to increase the price. (AÖ/VK)