TÜİK responds to Özgür Özel over 'ping pong ball' claim

TÜİK's statement is as follows:

''Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Mr. Özgür Özel provided misleading and incorrect information to the public during a television program he attended yesterday by stating that ping pong balls and copper rods are included in the inflation basket. Ping pong balls and copper rods are not included in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) item basket, and this statement does not reflect the truth.

Since it has been assessed that the CHP Chairman aims to create a false perception in society by expressing these statements several times at different times, and thus consciously attempts to influence public opinion with incorrect information, it has become necessary to provide technical clarification.

TÜİK calculates and publishes the CPI in accordance with international norms and standards, taking into account the entirety of the European Statistics Code of Practice, just as it does with all statistics published within the scope of the Official Statistics Program. All details regarding the CPI data collection, processing, and publication processes are published on the TÜİK website within the scope of the 'accessibility and transparency' principles, which are also defined in the TÜİK Quality Assurance Framework.

TÜİK creates a basket based on the goods and services most consumed by households to determine the inflation rate. In addition to basic food items such as bread, milk, eggs, meat, tea, vegetables, and fruits, this basket includes regular household payments such as rent, electricity, natural gas, water, and telephone bills.

As of 2024, this basket, which consists of a total of 406 items, also covers all goods and services that hold a significant place in household consumption expenditures, from cigarettes to gasoline, education to health, and clothing to household goods.''

WHAT DID ÖZGÜR ÖZEL SAY?

CHP Leader Özgür Özel had reacted to the 30 percent raise given to the minimum wage. Regarding TÜİK's inflation calculation, Özel had stated the following:

“TÜİK's inflation is like this, but what is it based on? You know, there is a ping pong ball in TÜİK's calculation, in the inflation basket, there is a copper rod; they put all sorts of things in there, and that basket is 50 percent. Since a minimum wage earner does not eat ping pong balls and does not pay their child's allowance with a copper rod, we looked at how it was done. There are the basic expenses of a minimum wage earner; looking at their situation on January 1st and their possible prices in December, our friends calculated that the real inflation, the inflation experienced by the minimum wage earner, is 78 percent. In other words, just like what is called 'felt temperature,' this is the inflation felt by the minimum wage earner. Then, at the very least, it should be 80 percent. We said that they should not be crushed by inflation, and that is where the 30 thousand TL figure came from.”

News Source: 12punto