The custom of welcoming the month of Ramadan in Türkiye and people’s surprise at the price of goods

According to Webangah News quoted by Tasnim News agency, the arrival of the holy month of Ramadan In the Muslim country of Turkey, it has special manifestations and customs, and the people of faith in this country always warmly welcome Ramadan. But this year, due to the unprecedented depth and extent of the economic crisis, the Turkish market is not in the same mood as it used to be. Fasting and worshipers in Turkey used to go to the market to buy special packages for Suhoor and Iftar, but now, it is difficult to buy a package. Every year, Turkish shopkeepers offer Ramadan special food packages in a large carton or box, some of which include dates, cheese, macaroni, honey, sugar, walnuts, tea, rice, oil and many others. But now buying these packages has become practically impossible for a significant part of Turkey’s 85 million population.

The price of food in Turkey, after two big waves of Corona and Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in 2023 entered a more dangerous atmosphere, and now in 2024, Turkey is one of the 3 countries in the world that has broken the record of food inflation, and the work will be more difficult for fasting people.

Pideh, olmazsa olmazlardan

Pideh in Turkish language means a kind of sweet bread special for the month Ramadan is blessed, which has many fans both in Suhoor and Iftar, and it is safe to say that there is no family that fasts without Peedeh. This means that Shirmal bread is one of those items that you can’t live without! It gradually increased from 2 and 3 liras to 7 liras. But now, on the eve of entering the holy month, the announcement of a 15 lira price tag for special Ramadan bread has worried a significant part of Turkey’s 85 million population. Each Ramadhan piede or Shirmal finally weighs 250 grams. /08/1402120816165495329478294.jpg”/>

Khalil Ebrahim Balchi, head of the Turkish Bakers Federation, announced that last year the price of 1 kilo of Ramzani Shirmal was 33.5 liras, but this year, the price per kilo is 60 lira has been considered and each 250 gram pide will be sold for 15 lira in Ankara, Istanbul, Antalya and Izmir.

The same price is also considered in other provinces According to the economic situation of the people, the baker can decide to offer, for example, 100 grams of pieda or 2500 grams. But finally, the price standard is considered to be 60 lira per 1 kg.

In order to understand how important 15 lira is to a Turkish citizen, we must remember that Millions of workers in Turkey receive a monthly salary of 17,000 lira, and as a result, 15 lira is not a small amount of money.

It just became expensive?

Turkey’s very diverse cooking school, delicious foods and items are considered for those who are fasting, and cooking and consuming these foods has become a habit and a cultural pattern and somehow cannot be ignored.

But when it comes to poverty and expensiveness, many food items should be given up. During the Iftar meal in Turkey, special types of meat dishes are usually cooked, and as a result, the price of meat is one of the important topics of Ramadan in Turkey.

The Yeni Asia newspaper of the Democratic Conservative Party, in a cartoon , with irony and exaggeration, showed that meat in Turkey is the price of gold. But the fact is that it has become impossible to buy meat for millions of Turkish households. It has reached the point where its consumption has actually decreased significantly and its purchase is almost unreachable for the general public. Inflation in the price of meat continues and sometimes the price goes up two or three times during the day.

He said: “We talked to the livestock seller at the beginning of our working day. And we agreed on 160 lira per kilo for live animals, but in the afternoon of the same day, he announced that he is not willing to sell below 165 lira. Indeed, the price of meat fluctuates like gold. With the difference that sometimes gold goes down a little, but meat still gets more expensive”.

Field report of Ankara Print Economic Analysis newspaper, showed that Turkish people start Ramadan with food inflation of 69.71% and Such a thing has not happened in the last three decades.

This year, the conditions of the Turkish market are such that packages containing basic items with different contents often remain unsold. But even last year, people were lining up to buy these packages.

Suzjo newspaper also announced that the price of boxes containing 11 items including rice, semolina, sunflower oil, sugar, Pasta and tomato paste will be sold at a price of 299.90 liras with a 30% increase. Ramadan packages with contents between 13 and 24 food items are sold at prices ranging from 391.90 lira to 990 lira.

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