Minister of Commerce Ömer Bolat stated that they saw that prices were inflated with the introduction of the minimum wage and that they would not allow it.
Minister Bolat attended the Retailers Sector Meeting held at the Ministry of Labor and Social Security with the Minister of Labor and Social Security Vedat Işıkhan.
Pointing out in his speech here that they continue to work in line with the Medium Term Program targets to reduce inflation, Bolat said, “In this sense, the retail sector plays a very important role. There is a trade volume of approximately 60 trillion lira in Turkey as of 2023. Of this, the volume of the retail trade sector is 10 trillion lira. “5 trillion liras.” he said.
Bolat said that food retailing stands out in this sector and that the market share of organized retailing is increasing in the world and in Turkey.
“DISINFLATIONIST PROCESS IS PROGRESSING SUCCESSFULLY”
Stating that food inflation remained below the CPI in the summer months of this year, Bolat said:
“We achieved this both with the high production supply and with the sectoral regulations and inspections we carried out. We saw that food inflation increased slightly as of November, as winter products came to the market in the early stages and the weather conditions worsened. As the Ministry of Commerce, Labor and Social Security, Agriculture and Forestry, Industry and Technology We act as a whole with our Treasury and Finance Ministries. Our primary goal is to reduce inflation to single digits by the end of 2026. We are determined to ensure that the disinflationary process is progressing successfully. “We continue our work in close dialogue and cooperation with the industry.”
Bolat noted that they listened to the relevant parties while making the regulations and made the necessary legal arrangements in this context.
Stating that sectoral inspections continue intensively, Bolat emphasized that they, as the state and government, are present to prevent opportunistic practices in the market.
“MINISTRY TEAMS ARE WORKING TOGETHER”
While making an evaluation about the work of the Minimum Wage Determination Commission, which will start tomorrow, Bolat said that they encountered some market-distorting practices both during inspections and in notices.
Reminding that the minimum wage was not increased in July, Bolat continued as follows:
“As soon as the minimum wage is named, we see some practices such as front-loading, inflating prices immediately from the front, we come across them during audits, we will not allow them. As a result, the minimum wage will come into force at the beginning of 2025 and the first payment to employees will be made on January 31, 2025. Unfortunately, regarding foreign exchange, there is no ‘What? This foreign exchange has remained low, let’s immediately increase the price according to the possible foreign currency’ or when there is an increase in an input good, ‘let’s raise it immediately’ and ‘The minimum wage is this much. “We will not allow the approach of ‘maybe, let me add this to the price already’ and we are carrying out inspections. The inspection teams of the Ministries of Commerce, Labor and Social Security and Agriculture and Forestry are working together and doing their duties in a coordinated manner. We expect cooperation from the sector officials engaged in retail trade on this issue.”
Stating that the low inflation and high growth process will be achieved in a very short time, Bolat added that they will achieve this by collaborating with all segments of society.
