CHP's Gürer reveals at the Planning and Budget Committee: 'We are importing olive oil from a country that has no olive trees'

CHP Niğde Deputy Ömer Fethi Gürer, in his speech at the Planning and Budget Committee, drew attention to the supply deficit in 28 food products. Stating that Turkey imports products from 128 countries, Gürer said, "Imports can be carried out in a way that prevents unfair competition when necessary, and can be considered partially even for price balancing in the market. It is also observed that imported products compete with domestic products and appear on shelves at higher prices than some local products."

IMPORTING OLIVE OIL FROM A COUNTRY WITHOUT OLIVE TREES

Emphasizing product safety and domestic production, Gürer also noted the following:

"How much foreign currency has gone abroad? Who are the ones importing these? It would be beneficial for the public to know this. How much customs duty was waived in 2022 and 2023 by zeroing out customs taxes? What is the distribution of the number of imported food product varieties by country this year? Even though the purpose of imported products is to balance prices, why is it not prevented that they appear on shelves more expensive than domestic products? Just as we import olive oil from a country that has no olive trees, what kind of logic is it to import live animals from a place that is only the size of one of our provinces?"