As we all know, if the first button of a shirt is fastened wrong, all the other buttons go wrong. Turkey, which used to be self-sufficient in food and free of a food security problem, has been grappling with alarming agricultural decline for some time, increasingly turning to imports as its agricultural and animal production no longer meet domestic demand. On April 25, the embattled Turkish lira tumbled to its lowest level since October, boding further hardship for import-reliant farmers and the economy in general.
Farmers complain of being neglected, and an exodus is ongoing from the sector. Although exports have been able to cover the supply shortage, the devaluation of the Turkish lira has meant higher foreign exchange prices, which, combined with other problems, have raised costs in the agricultural sector. As a result of the cost increase, coupled with an unhealthy supply chain between producers and consumers, year-on-year food inflation has soared to nearly 30%.
