Iran Conflict Triggers Turkey's Food Inflation to 20 Perseen

JAKARTA - Food price inflation in Turkey has increased by 20 percent amid the conflict between the United States (US) and Israel with Iran, which triggered an increase in energy, logistics, and packaging costs.

"Since the war started, the prices of fruits and vegetables have risen by 15-20 percent, and the increase in transportation costs has greatly disrupted the supply chain from farmers to markets," the chairman of the Federation of Food Industry Associations, Huseyin Bozdag, told the newspaper Turkiye, as reported by ANTARA from Sputnik//RIA Novosti-OANA, Monday, April 20.

He said the price increase occurred at every stage of distribution. Products priced at 8 lira (about 0.18 US dollars/Rp3,000) at the farmer level can reach 26 lira (about 0.59 US dollars/Rp9,900) in the wholesale market, and up to 50 lira (about 1.14 US dollars/Rp19,115) on supermarket shelves.

Bozdag added that price pressure is expected to increase in the near future.

"In the next one to one and a half months, we estimate that 'kitchen' (food) inflation will rise by about 20 percent," he said.

Industry data shows additional challenges are emerging due to logistical constraints, including those related to the situation around the Strait of Hormuz, which hinders access to a number of regions and increases supplier costs.

Turkey's annual inflation slowed to 30.87 percent in March, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute.

On April 13, the US Navy began blocking all maritime traffic entering and leaving Iranian ports on both sides of the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic route that accounts for about 20 percent of the world's oil supplies, petroleum products, and liquefied natural gas.

The Washington government stated that non-Iranian ships could still cross the Strait of Hormuz as long as they did not pay a levy to Tehran.

Iranian authorities have not announced the implementation of the levy, although the plan has been discussed.