Hunger threshold tops minimum wage in Turkey: Report

Hunger threshold in Turkey has surpassed the minimum wage, indicating a rising disparity between income and basic living expenses, statistics released by Turkey’s biggest workers confederation Turk-Is revealed on Wednesday.

The latest findings of the monthly "Poverty and Hunger Line Research" conducted by Turk-Is for August 2023 aims to highlight the living conditions of employees and the impact of price changes in essential commodities on family budgets. According to the research, the 'hunger threshold', which refers to the amount a family of four needs to spend on food to have a healthy, balanced, and adequate diet, has been calculated at 12,198 lira for this month.

Furthermore, the 'poverty line', which includes combined monthly expenses on food, clothing, housing, transportation, education, health, and other necessities, stands at 39,733 lira.

The cost of living for a single employee also saw an increase, reaching a monthly total of 15,813 lira.

Notably, a family of four residing in Ankara experienced a rise in their minimum food expenditure by 4.63% compared to the previous month. Over the past year, the increment rate has been calculated at a whopping 77.04%.

The research highlighted some startling price hikes in basic commodities in August. Milk prices soared by an average of 12%, yogurt by 14%, and cheese by a significant 26%. Brand-marketed milk prices now stand at 21.5 TL per liter, with cheese reaching 117.5 TL per kilogram. Meanwhile, there was a marginal decline observed in the price of beef. Ground beef is now priced at an average of 303 TL, with beef cubes available at 340 TL in store aisles.

Over a single month, the prices of cultured fish and chickpeas rose by 4%, chicken by 7%, oily seeds (nuts) and green lentils by 10%, and red lentils and eggs by 11%. The cost of a single chicken egg surpassed the 3.60 TL mark.