TUIK reports 43.68% inflation in April, ENAG reports 105.19%

Turkey's Statistical Institute (TUIK) released the inflation data for April, revealing that inflation rose by 2.39% compared to the previous month, 15.21% compared to December of the previous year, and 43.68% compared to the same month of the previous year.

However, the Inflation Research Group (ENAG), consisting of independent economists, reported that inflation increased by 4.86% on a monthly basis in April, while annual inflation reached 105.19%.

According to TUIK, lamb meat saw the highest price increase in April, with a rise of 21.47%. Beef followed with a rise of 13.34%, and road transportation (ticket prices) came in third with a rise of 12%.

The main group with the least increase compared to the same month of the previous year was clothing and footwear, which increased by 13.82%. On the other hand, the main group with the highest increase compared to the same month of the previous year was health, with a rise of 66.62%.

The gap between official and independent inflation figures remains a point of contention, with critics suggesting that TUIK's methods may not accurately reflect the true level of inflation in the country.

FINAL TOUCH-UP BEFORE ELECTIONS

“TUIK has done the 'final touch-up' on inflation before the elections. But no matter what it does, the people know the inflation they are experiencing. They are rating the government accordingly and counting down the days to cast their vote," CHP’s heavyweight Faik Oztrak said on Twitter.

"Annual inflation may decrease due to base effects in measurement, but purchasing power moves further away from being attainable. According to Istanbul Chamber of Commerce's consumption basket, the price level that was on average 100 in 2016 became 534 in April 2023. If the income of someone using this equivalent basket did not increase by 5.5 times, it means they have become poorer," economist Ugur Gurses commented.

"These unrealistic, manipulated numbers will be the last inflation figures announced by this government. After May 14, the era of deceiving the people with numbers will come to an end." - Bilge Yılmaz, an economic expert from the Good Party said.

"As a researcher who uses this data in my studies, I can clearly see that TUIK has not been publishing data at the level of both goods and NUTS2 regions for a year. I can see that this is to hide the manipulation in the declared headline inflation figures." - Kamil Yılmaz, an economics professor at Koc University said.