Prices for meat and dairy products in Turkey are skyrocketing

In an attempt to stem price increases ahead of the upcoming Islamic holidays and general elections, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MinAF) has reluctantly made the decision to import some beef and cattle. However, these measures are not expected to adequately address the shortfall in beef and MILK production and will have a limited impact on prices.

Türkiye has struggled with record inflation over the past few years. Headline inflation rose by 64 percent in 2022, despite government efforts to combat rising prices, according to official figures. Independent think tanks believe that the actual inflation rate was probably twice that figure. Meanwhile, the issue of inflation is becoming increasingly political ahead of the May 2023 general election.

Since food prices account for the largest share of overall inflation, in recent years the government has taken various measures to reduce food prices, including reducing the value-added tax (VAT) on food, zeroing import duties on grain, and halting the EXPORT of certain agricultural products and temporarily allowed the import of beef and feed cattle. In addition, to keep prices down, the government allegedly pressured livestock producers not to raise purchase prices as costs rose. In response, farmers complained that they were already losing money due to too low selling prices and turned to the government for more support.

In order to avoid a significant increase in the price of milk and MEAT before the general elections and before the month of Ramadan, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MinAF) allowed the State Meat and Milk Board (ESK) to intervene in market relations by importing 500,000 HEAD of cattle and 85,000 tons beef this year. This move to import cattle and beef is a bit unorthodox as Turkey generally discourages the importation of cattle (except for breeding animals) and beef. From the Post's point of view, these amounts are too small to seriously affect local meat prices.