Ankara slices away at meat prices
The Turkish government has intervened in the market to address soaring food prices as the Central Bank stumbles in its fight against inflation.
For the past four years, Turkey’s Central Bank has succeeded in maintaining fiscal stability but has failed badly on the inflation front. In 2011, inflation hit 10.4%, almost doubling the 5.5% target. In 2012, the rate declined to 6.2% but was still above the 5% target. In 2013 and 2014, the target remained unchanged at 5%, while the year-end rates reached 7.4% and 8.2%, respectively.
This year, the target is again 5%. As of July, consumer inflation stood at 6.8%.
In the early 2000s, Turkey had made significant strides in fighting its chronic inflation problem. The rate fell to a single-digit figure — 9.3% — in 2004, down from 18.4% in 2003 and 29.7% in 2002. Yet over the past decade, Turkey has struggled to further reduce the rate to the 5% benchmark. The best outcome during this period came in 2012 with 6.2%.
Why is Turkey failing to pull it off?
