Turkey will curb the prices of foodstuffs following a rise in consumer price inflation, the country's economy minister said yesterday. "We will curb food prices through the efforts of [our] food committee and our government's structural policies," Nihat Zeybekci said on his Twitter account.

His comments came after Turkish Statistical Institute said the country's annual rate of consumer price inflation climbed beyond expectations, up to 8.79 percent in July compared with 7.64 percent in June. Zeybekci said the main reason behind this rise was the increase in the price of food and non-alcoholic beverages.

The government has been trying to make its food committee much more efficient by investigating why food prices are on the rise. World food prices have fallen to their lowest in eight years, but the country has consistently struggled to keep its food prices, especially red meat and processed food, at a reasonable level.

The country's Food and Agriculture Ministry decided on Feb. 10 to impose a price ceiling for red meat in a bid to control price rises. Food and beverages account for the largest portion of the country's inflation basket, at 24 percent.

According to the economy minister, the core inflation rate measure, which excludes energy and food prices, attained its lowest monthly change within the last five months and kept its moderate pace. "We believe that stabilization in food prices will trigger a decrease in consumer inflation accordingly," Zeybekci tweeted. Zeybekci said on May 6 that import licenses may be offered on certain food products.