Markets run by Türkiye’s agricultural cooperatives have seen their sales soar as customers flocked to take advantage of a major discount campaign launched this week to help reign in rising food prices.
The move came as Türkiye is trying to curb inflation running at a 24-year high of nearly 80%, stoked in part by surging energy prices due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Nearly 1,400 stores operated by the Agricultural Credit Cooperatives across the country on Monday started offering more than 30 items at discounted prices after instructions by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Prices were lowered on products ranging from meat, poultry, flour, sugar, rice, onions, sunflower seed oil, liquid soaps to paper towels, as well as some fruits.
“We will start selling cattle with a 30%-35% discount. This will also align those who upset the balance of the markets,” Erdoğan said last week.
Daily turnover at the agricultural cooperatives’ outlets rose nearly sevenfold on Monday, the organization said in a statement on Tuesday. The turnover that averaged around TL 20 million ($1.11 million) is said to have hit TL 130 million on Monday.
The organization also said works to expand the campaign to other products were underway.
The number of grocery stores run by the Agricultural Credit Cooperatives has soared from around 500 last October after Erdoğan ordered the opening of about 1,000 new markets across the country to provide suitable prices for consumer goods.
The rapid expansion is making it a rival for major grocery chains, including listed BIM Birleşik Mağazalar A.Ş. and privately held A101 Yeni Mağazacılık A.Ş.
“We are expecting other retailers to follow suit, and this will have a favorable impact on food prices,” Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati wrote on Twitter.
“We are determined to protect people against food inflation.”
The Turkish central bank last month raised its year-end inflation forecast to 60.4% and saw it peaking near 90% in the autumn.
The government has said inflation will fall with the new economic program, which prioritizes low rates to boost production and exports and aims to achieve a current account surplus.
Erdoğan has urged “patience” as he said he expected runaway prices to soon begin to fall and come down to “appropriate” levels by February or March next year.
