Independent research group shows Turkey’s annual inflation at 108 pct in June – Turkish Minute

An independent inflation research group has announced that June consumer prices in Turkey recorded a monthly increase of 8.54 percent and an annual increase of 108.58 percent.

ENAGrup Consumer Price Index (E-CPI) increased by 8.54% in June, 2023

E-CPI increased by 108.58% in the last 12 months

— ENAG (@ENAGRUP) July 3, 2023

Turkey’s Inflation Research Group (ENAG), which was established in İstanbul by a group of academics and researchers in 2020 to track inflation in the country, gained prominence after the inflation figures found by the group differed significantly from the official inflation data announced by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).

ENAG’s inflation figures are sometimes twice as high as those announced by TurkStat. As a result the group is accused by the government of playing with the inflation numbers to discredit TurkStat and paint a gloomy picture of the condition of the Turkish economy.

According to ENAG’s June data, the category with the highest inflation was “hotels, cafes and restaurants,” at 19.03 percent. It was followed by “transport” with 15.96 percent and “furnishings, household equipment” at 10.82 percent. The monthly increase in prices of “food and non-alcoholic beverages” was recorded at 5.10 percent.

The Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) reported that the annual inflation rate for May was 39.59 percent.

The institute is expected to announce June inflation figures on July 5.

The head of TurkStat has been replaced four times by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan since April 2019, leading to claims that Erdoğan was not pleased with the TurkStat figures when they were higher than his expectations.

Meanwhile, according to the Food Security Update released by the World Bank on June 20, Turkey was ranked eighth in the world with the highest food inflation rate between January and April 2023, at 53 percent. The top three countries on the list were Lebanon (350 percent), Argentina (115 percent) and Zimbabwe (102 percent).

Over the past several years, Turkey has been suffering from backsliding in its economy, with high inflation and unemployment as well as a poor human rights record. Erdoğan is criticized for mishandling the economy, emptying the state’s coffers and establishing one-man rule in the country where dissent is suppressed and opponents are jailed on politically motivated charges.