TÜİK reveals inflation basket for the first time in 20 months! They even added vodka to the list

The Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) announced January inflation today. It was noted that TÜİK, which also added new products to the basket, included "vodka" in the list.

The Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DİSK) had filed a lawsuit against TÜİK for not disclosing the inflation basket.

DİSK won the case heard at the Ankara Administrative Court in April 2023.

DİSK President Arzu Çerkezoğlu said in a statement yesterday, "For nearly two years, since June 2022, TÜİK has stopped disclosing the item basket it uses when announcing inflation, that is, the basket containing over 400 items."

THEY ALSO DISCLOSED THE INFLATION BASKET

Today, TÜİK updated and shared the inflation basket.

According to information on its website, the locations and workplaces where prices are collected, the products in the index basket, their weights, and product definitions are updated every year.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) basket, its weights, and the announced rates of change do not belong to a single individual or a specific income group, but represent the national average.

Since 2019, with the acquisition of turnover data for workplaces from the Revenue Administration (GİB), a workplace sample is created using turnover values for markets and clothing stores in the retail sector.

Every year in December, the most current turnover data is examined, and the workplaces where prices are collected on a provincial basis are reviewed. Based on the turnover size of workplaces in the retail trade sector on a provincial basis, the aim is to collect prices from chain and local firms that are preferred by consumers in that province and have the highest sales.

In 2024, approximately 608 thousand 594 prices will be collected every month for 406 items and 913 item varieties from 28 thousand 852 workplaces and 5 thousand 246 residences (rent) across all 81 provinces and 227 districts in the CPI.

In the update made every December, goods and services with increasing weight are included in the index basket, while products with decreasing weight are removed from the basket. For this reason, the number of products in the CPI basket changes every year.

TÜİK ALSO PUT VODKA IN THE BASKET

According to the update, the new items added to the basket this year are vodka, women's coats, and hall rental for weddings, engagements, and similar gatherings; the only item removed from the basket was children's shoes (leather or artificial leather).

Additionally, item varieties and item variety weights covered under pasta, milk, cigarettes, shoes (for women), vacuum cleaners, storage and preservation materials, other health products, automobiles (diesel), automobiles (gasoline), bridge tolls, train fares (intercity), airline ticket prices, payments for sports activities, private television and online broadcasting services, magazines and journals, and watches were updated.

THOSE IN THE MAIN GROUP

The main group weights to be used in CPI calculations were also determined.

Accordingly, while the weight of food and non-alcoholic beverages fell from 25.43 percent to 24.98 percent and housing from 16.61 percent to 14.2 percent, the weight of transportation rose from 15.08 percent to 17.35 percent.

While the weights of health, recreation and culture, restaurants and hotels, education, clothing and footwear, and alcoholic beverages and tobacco increased, the weight of household goods and miscellaneous goods and services fell. It was observed that the group weight for communication did not change.

The weights in question were determined as 3.75 percent for alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 1.79 percent for education, 6.94 percent for clothing and footwear, 8.12 percent for household goods, 3.71 percent for health, 3.33 percent for communication, 3.33 percent for recreation and culture, 8.17 percent for restaurants and hotels, and 4.29 percent for miscellaneous goods and services.

The consumer price index main group weights are as follows:

News Source: AA