This summer, which we were hopefully expecting to be calm, will bring in a different atmosphere. As tensions rise, so will the number of people who believe in the unfounded words of those who occasionally make a correct guess just like a broken clock that is right twice a day. Today, I wanted to support Mahfi Eğilmez’s tireless efforts to reveal the false facts people thought were true.
I can’t stop myself from speaking up when I see some approaches that are widely accepted among the public are also considered to be true by the business world.
For example, the claim that “exchange rates stay calm during the tourism season” does not apply to each summer. We have seen such calm periods only twice over the last five years. Considering the astronomical prices of imported goods, which are constantly increasing due to the rise in foreign exchange rates and commodity/energy prices, and the private sector’s huge external debt, can be clearly seen that there is no balance in the economy whatsoever that can relieve us from worry. So let alone calm down, we are even willing to do this level.
Another false fact is that “industrial activity slows down in summer, factories take a break, the market calms down”. Frankly, no one has closed their factory in recent years to take a holiday, especially when it comes to producing goods to meet the foreign demand. The industry continues to work while white and blue collar workers take their annual leaves. Therefore, this “calming down” expectation is simply not grounded, the demand for imported raw materials and intermediate goods required for production will continue, so will the need for foreign funds.
People also falsely believe that “When summer comes, price increases in agricultural products slow down”. But that is not the case at all. The pandemic and the Russo-Ukrainian War cause the prices of agricultural products to go up constantly. It is obvious that Turkey is not self-sufficient in agriculture and desperately resorts to importing. Trying to reduce prices by continuously importing goods may also cause producers to quit producing. In other words, food inflation in Turkey will continue to rise in line with the domestic developments over the coming years, and it may only calm down according to price movements abroad.
“Inflation rates got me thinking,” I wrote yesterday’s report. I am aware of the food inflation because I myself do my own shopping at the supermarkets and farmers’ markets. wandered around the bazaar market. I think we see the new hike in the electricity bill of the next month. I do not even want to mention the fuel bills. All of the ever-increasing costs affect the households’ ability to cover their basic expenses .
While the cost of living is rising all over the world, it should not be overlooked that in countries such as Turkey, too much allocation from already low incomes to living expenses may also create other terrible effects beyond a decline in the quality of life.
Lost money comes back, but it is not easy to regain lost mental health.
