Annual inflation nears 144 percent

Meriç Köyatası-12punto.com.tr

12punto columnist, journalist and economist Meriç Köyatası announced his own inflation measurements, reporting 4.01 percent for October, 112.4 percent for the 10-month period from January to October, and 143.8 percent for the year ending in October. On the morning of November 3, the independent economist group ENAG released its inflation figures at 9:30 AM, followed by TUIK at 10:00 AM.

Regarding his own inflation measurements, Meriç Köyatası states the following:

“In reality, everyone has their own inflation rate based on their own consumption basket. In a country like Turkey, where income distribution has deteriorated to a disastrous degree over the last two years, it is almost impossible to create a consumption basket that reflects society as a whole. Aside from TUIK's inflation basket, there is a serious public trust issue regarding its measurement. ENAG measures inflation much more realistically. However, ENAG also measures inflation based on the TUIK basket. There are differences between ENAG inflation and TUIK inflation that are sometimes double or even triple. My measurement is a notch above ENAG's. In some months, ENAG's figures come out higher than mine.

The most obvious difference between my basket and the TUIK and ENAG baskets is the weighting of food products. In TUIK's basket, the weight of food is at the 25 percent level. In my basket, the weight of the food group is 35 percent...

According to the UK-based Oxfam, known for its income and wealth research, the share of food expenditures in sub-Saharan countries with poor income distribution and poverty is at the 40 percent level. For the last two years, there has been no middle class left in Turkey, and society has become significantly impoverished. For this reason, I created a basket that is not quite at the level of sub-Saharan countries, but with a 35 percent food weighting, which is suitable for my own consumption habits. Of course, I do not claim that it covers the entire society, but I believe it is more realistic than calculations that use a 25 percent food weighting.”