1.4 million TL fine for CHP member over apricot post: 'Distorts market balance'
Deputy Minister of Trade Mahmut Gürcan stated in a post on his social media account that inspection teams had launched an investigation into apricot sales prices, and that Bilgihan Ova, a CHP Tuzluca candidate hopeful who made the post, had been contacted and the interview recorded in an official report.
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Gürcan stated that an investigation was launched following posts claiming that "apricots are sold for 1 TL in Iğdır and 120 TL in Istanbul," adding, "An administrative fine of 1 million 400 thousand TL has been imposed by our Ministry of Trade on the individual named Bilgihan Ova, who was determined to have spread false information that is misleading to the public and distorts market balance."
Deputy Minister Mahmut Gürcan said, "As a result of the examinations conducted by our inspection teams, it was determined that the individual named Bilgihan Ova is not registered in the Farmer Registration System (ÇKS), is not registered in the Wholesale Market Registration System (HKS), has no tax liability, that the price of apricots per kilogram in Iğdır is between 35-40 TL, and that the shelf price in markets and sales points in Istanbul varies between 70 and 90 TL per kilogram.
APRICOTS USED IN FRUIT JUICE PRODUCTION
Furthermore, it was determined that the individual in question was a candidate for Mayor of Tuzluca from the Republican People's Party (CHP) in previous local elections and that he made political posts on social media channels aimed at misleading the public. The individual in question clearly stated in the official report that apricots are not sold for 1 TL in Iğdır; he declared that the apricots featured in the post were not table-grade, but were products supplied for use in fruit juice production.
In this context, an administrative fine of 1 million 400 thousand TL has been imposed by our Ministry of Trade on the individual named Bilgihan Ova, who was determined to have spread false information that is misleading to the public and distorts market balance. As the Ministry of Trade, we will never tolerate any attempt that devalues the labor of our producers, misleads our consumers, and disrupts market order; we will resolutely apply all necessary sanctions against individuals and institutions that engage in such attempts," he stated.