More than 2,894 tons of vegetables were sold at 50 municipal direct sale points that opened in Istanbul's 34 districts on Feb. 11, according to the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB).

Eight different types of vegetables are sold at affordable prices at 50 municipal direct sale points, established with the support of the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry. It is part of Turkey's All-out Battle against Inflation campaign, initiated by the Treasury and Finance Ministry.

In the 10-day period, tomatoes were the most sold vegetable. A total of 1,222 tons of tomatoes, 843 tons of potatoes, 436 tons of onions, 144 tons of spinach, 111 tons of banana peppers, 43 tons of cucumbers, 62 tons of green peppers and 33 tons of eggplant have been sold through the sale points so far.

Local municipalities in Istanbul and Ankara launched the direct sale points last week to counter soaring consumer prices of foodstuff, offering a number of agricultural products to average consumers at affordable prices. This practice was later also initiated in a number of other provinces.

The sale points, launched to circumvent middlemen and profiteers, have seen widespread demand from citizens and are likely to spread across Turkey. With the start of vegetable sales at municipal direct sale points, prices in vegetable wholesale markets and supermarket chains have dropped by half.

The state-run Turkish Post and Telegraph Organization's (PTT) online marketplace, www.epttavm.com also started selling vegetables last Thursday.