Pots are not boiling and tables are emptying: The food crisis in Turkey is deepening

As we leave the first quarter of 2025 behind, iftar and sahur tables in Turkey are being set in the shadow of an economic crisis. Pots are not boiling, and tables are emptying. According to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), although annual inflation was announced as 39.05% as of February 2025, market and grocery prices reveal the reality felt by the public. Changing price tags every day, falling purchasing power, and basic food products becoming difficult to access are leaving Turkey facing a deep food crisis.

While price tags in markets change daily, the products on the public's tables are dwindling. Today, low-income households in Turkey are struggling to access even basic food items, let alone meat and dairy products. Moreover, this situation is too complex to be explained by an economic crisis alone. Misguided agricultural policies, unplanned import decisions, and economic choices that do not prioritize the public have brought Turkey face-to-face with one of the deepest food crises in its history. Turkey has ceased to be a self-sufficient agricultural country and has turned into a country without food security.

Food Inflation: Official Figures and the Public's Reality

According to TÜİK data; in February 2025, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 2.27% compared to the previous month, by 7.42% compared to December of the previous year, by 39.05% compared to the same month of the previous year, and by 53.83% according to twelve-month averages. Although this rate is officially considered "high but declining," independent research and the reality experienced by the public are much more frightening. According to some independent sources, the inflation level, especially the level of increase in food prices, is much higher. It is estimated that price increases in some basic food products have risen 3-4 times over the last two years.

Eating Meat is a Luxury, Vegetables and Fruits are Unattainable

Red meat prices are one of the most striking examples in the public's daily life. Ground meat, sold for up to 750 TL, is straining the budgets of low-income families. Even chicken meat has reached 150 TL. The picture is no better for milk and dairy products. 1 liter of milk has reached 45 TL, and cheese has hit 300 TL. Yogurt is priced like a luxury consumer good.

Vegetables and fruits share a similar fate: Tomatoes have reached 70 TL/kg, cucumbers 60 TL/kg, and potatoes 35 TL/kg. These prices are valid even at the local markets. As such, the public finds the solution in turning to low-quality but cheap food items. This situation brings with it nutritional deficiencies, developmental delays in children, and public health problems.

• Ground beef: While it was 150 TL in 2023, it has risen to 750 TL today (400% increase).

• One liter of milk: From 15 TL in 2023, it is now 45 TL (200% increase).

• 5 liters of sunflower oil: While it was 350 TL in 2023, it has risen to 700 TL today (100% increase).

Price increases in chain markets are higher compared to local markets. Moreover, even in public markets, which are the preference of low-income citizens, price increases exceeding 200% are seen in basic products. A chasm has formed between the data announced by TÜİK and the prices the citizen sees in their shopping basket. Pots are not boiling, tables are thinning, and the hunger threshold is rising.

TÜRK-İŞ Data: Record in Hunger and Poverty Thresholds

The February 2025 report by TÜRK-İŞ strikingly reveals the deterioration in income distribution and purchasing power in Turkey. The monthly food expenditure amount required for a family of 4 to eat healthily, balanced, and adequately (HUNGER THRESHOLD) has risen to 23,324 TL, and the total amount of other monthly expenditures that must be made for clothing, housing (rent, electricity, water, fuel), transportation, education, health, and similar needs along with food expenditure (POVERTY THRESHOLD) has risen to 75,973 TL.

The minimum wage of 22,104 TL determined in 2025 has now become the average wage and has remained below the hunger threshold, which is the amount for food expenditure alone. In other words, millions of our citizens are living below the hunger threshold and are facing serious difficulties even in meeting their basic living costs (food needs). Millions of people in Turkey are borrowing to survive and turning to cheap and unhealthy foods. The right to healthy nutrition has now become a privilege of only high-income segments.

Why Did Turkey End Up Like This?

? Misguided Agricultural Policies: Turkey has pushed agricultural policies to the background in line with the neoliberal policies it has implemented since the 1980s. Support for farmers remained insufficient; agricultural lands were opened to rent and construction. We have turned from a self-sufficient agricultural country into a country dependent on imports. As of 2025, the number of producing farmers in Turkey has decreased by 12%. Farmers have become unable to produce in the face of rising costs. The price of a liter of diesel has reached 50 TL, and a ton of fertilizer has reached 25,000 TL levels. Electricity prices used in irrigation have increased by 40%. While the producer cannot stay on their field, it has become inevitable that prices in the public market will increase.

? Currency Crisis and Dependence on Imports: Agricultural inputs are imported with foreign currency. With the dollar gaining around 35% in value in 2025, import prices skyrocketed. Dependence on foreign countries in basic agricultural products such as wheat, corn, and barley has increased. As the exchange rate increased, food prices also increased. Some circles, instead of preventing this, chose to explain price increases with irrational reasons. Similarly, Argentina is also in a spiral of currency crises and inflation as of 2025. However, the Argentine government has relatively protected the domestic market with price controls and subsidies on basic food products. While red meat prices in Argentina remain lower in the domestic market due to export quotas, prices in Turkey fluctuate under free market conditions. Although the exchange rate is also effective in South Africa, the regulation of basic food prices through state-supported cooperatives has been effective in limiting price increases.

? Energy Costs and Their Impact on Agricultural Production: One of the biggest expenses of agricultural production in Turkey is energy. As of 2025, the rate of increase in electricity and natural gas has exceeded 40%. The increase in natural gas and electricity costs for heating in greenhouses has caused serious jumps in the prices of winter vegetables in particular. The price per liter of diesel used in agriculture has reached 50 TL. In countries like India and Brazil, the transition to renewable sources such as solar energy in agricultural irrigation has accelerated. In Brazil, as of 2025, 25% of the electricity used in agriculture is provided from renewable sources. In Turkey, this rate is only at the 5% level, and due to the high investment costs, farmers remain under a serious burden of energy costs.

? Climate Crisis and Loss of Agricultural Productivity: In 2024 and 2025, drought reached its peak in Turkey. In Anatolia, especially in the Inner Aegean and Mediterranean Regions, there was a yield loss in 15% of agricultural lands. The decline in harvest in basic products such as wheat, barley, and lentils directly affected flour and bread prices. As of February 2025, the price of bread reached 12.5 TL levels. European Union countries implemented agricultural insurance and support programs against climate change in 2025. For example, in Spain, 250 Euros of direct support per decare was provided to farmers affected by drought. The support provided by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in Turkey remained insufficient against inflation; the support per decare remained at the 75 TL level. This caused farmers to withdraw from production.

What is Being Done? Are Solutions Being Produced?

From time to time, attempts were made to lower prices with temporary measures such as "state-subsidized sales." However, these practices did not work in the long run. The support packages announced by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry remained far below the inflation rate. Farmers withdrew from production because they could not pay their debts. On the other hand, there is no serious inspection of chain markets and large food suppliers. Price manipulations and allegations of hoarding continue to be on the agenda, but we do not see an effective intervention.

Solution Proposals and Policy Alternatives

• Structural Reforms in Agriculture: Increasing farmer support and implementing long-term financing programs. Increasing input subsidies in agricultural production and expanding modern irrigation systems. The continuous division of agricultural lands, increasing unit costs, and decreasing productivity.

• Transformation in Energy Policies: Increasing renewable energy support in agricultural activities. Reorganizing electricity subsidies in agricultural irrigation.

• Market Inspection and Price Regulation: Inspecting price increases in chain markets. Expanding cooperative-supported direct producer-consumer markets.

• Export Quotas and Domestic Market Priority: Ensuring domestic supply security with export restrictions on basic food products. Using a portion of export revenues to balance the domestic market.

• Income Distribution and Social Support Policies: Revising the minimum wage according to the hunger and poverty threshold. Increasing social assistance and launching comprehensive food support programs.

Food Security, Access to Food, and Future Danger

Food inflation does not only mean rising prices. This means that a country's food security is in danger. In a world where the climate crisis is deepening, water resources are decreasing, and agricultural lands are shrinking, Turkey has lost its production power. A country that has become dependent on imports may have difficulty even accessing basic food products in global crises.

As I have mentioned in my previous articles; 8% of 15-year-old students in OECD countries reported that they did not eat for at least one day a week in the last 30 days because they did not have enough money to buy food. Food insecurity negatively affects not only the physical health of students but also their school performance, educational opportunities, and general quality of life. Turkey is the country with the highest percentage of 15-year-old students who reported that they did not eat for at least one day a week in the last 30 days because they did not have enough money to buy food. Unfortunately, almost one in 5 students in our country has to go to school hungry for at least one day.

Final Word: There is No Justice at This Table!

In recent years, the increase in food prices in Turkey has become a serious problem that strains both producers and consumers. Global climate change, decrease in agricultural production, fluctuations in exchange rates, and high input costs are among the main causes of food inflation.

In Turkey's 2025, the public is trying to extinguish the fire in their kitchen with their own efforts. Tables are emptying, the hunger threshold is rising, but economic success stories are still being told. The truth is hidden in the stories of people who cannot fill their shopping bags at the market and mothers who cannot feed their children one extra meal. If pots are not boiling and tables are not full, it means prosperity has not been distributed fairly.

Instability in food prices directly affects low- and middle-income segments, reducing purchasing power and making healthy and adequate nutrition difficult. The risk of malnutrition and developmental disorders in children is increasing rapidly. Therefore, supporting agricultural production, improving logistics processes, and implementing policies that will ensure price stability are of great importance.

Turkey's exit from this crisis is possible with policies and structural reforms that prioritize the public, are based on production, and aim for fair income distribution. Otherwise, large segments of society will continue to experience economic hardship, and this crisis will deepen further. Children who cannot be fed adequately, skipped meals, millions sleeping hungry…

If pots are not boiling and tables are empty, for whom are the so-called economic success stories being written?