A family of four in Turkey needed 116,106 lira ($2,487) in June to cover food and other basic monthly expenses, more than the income of a household where four people earn the minimum wage, according to a report by the Birleşik Kamu-İş labor union.
The report put the amount a family of four needs for food alone, labeled as the hunger line, at 37,996 lira ($814), above the monthly minimum wage of 28,075 lira ($601).
Four minimum-wage earners bring home a total of 112,300 lira ($2,405) a month, still 3,806 lira ($82) below the poverty line, which the union defines as the amount needed to cover food, clothing, housing, transportation, health, education and other basic needs without deprivation.
The union said the poverty line rose by 2,261 lira ($48) in June and by 32,247 lira ($691) over the past year.
Conversions are based on an exchange rate of 46.69 lira to the dollar on July 2.
The terms “hunger line” and “poverty line” entered Turkey’s economic debate largely through the Türk-İş union, which has published monthly calculations since December 1987 to track workers’ living conditions and basic price changes. Türk-İş defines the hunger line as the spending needed for a family of four to eat in a healthy and balanced way, using a nutrition pattern provided by Hacettepe University, while the poverty line adds spending for clothing, housing, transport, education, health and other basic needs.
Birleşik Kamu-İş uses a similar framework in its June report, calculating food costs from prices collected in Ankara for basic food items and adding nonfood expenses based on the Turkish Statistical Institute’s (TurkStat) consumption categories, excluding alcohol and tobacco.
The new data come against the backdrop of persistently high inflation and tight monetary policy in Turkey.
Official data showed annual inflation at 32.61 percent in May, while prices were up 16.61 percent from the beginning of the year and 32.24 percent by 12-month averages.
The central bank kept its key policy rate unchanged at 37 percent in June, saying inflation risks remained.
Turkey is known for its relatively high percentage of the workforce making the minimum wage. Labor unions estimate that roughly half of all workers earn a wage similar to the minimum wage.
Over the past decade, Turkey has been suffering from backsliding in its economy, with high inflation and unemployment as well as a poor human rights record. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is criticized for mishandling the economy, emptying the state’s coffers and establishing one-man rule in the country where dissent is suppressed and opponents are jailed on politically motivated charges.