 a month to afford a healthy and balanced diet, a threshold many unions call the "hunger line" in cost-of-living research, according to a report released Thursday by the United Metal Workers Union’s Research Center (BİSAM).){kind=link}
A family of four in Turkey now needs 36,324 lira ($770) a month to afford a healthy and balanced diet, a threshold many unions call the “hunger line” in cost-of-living research, according to a report released Thursday by the United Metal Workers Union’s Research Center (BİSAM).
BİSAM’s report also put the poverty line, which includes essential expenses such as housing, transportation, healthcare and education, at 119,330 lira ($2,500).
BİSAM said the increase in the hunger line was mainly driven by higher prices for cooking oil and nuts, while lower prices for cheese as well as meat, poultry and fish helped limit the overall rise.
According to the report, dairy products accounted for the largest share of daily food spending at 432.46 lira, followed by fruit and vegetables at 275.04 lira. Meat, poultry and fish ranked third at 198.06 lira per day.
Turkey’s monthly minimum wage currently stands at 30,000 lira (about $640) which is well below BİSAM’s estimated hunger line. Labor unions estimate that roughly half of the country’s workers earn around the minimum wage and have criticized the government for not approving a midyear wage increase despite continued inflation.
The latest figures come as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government faces continued criticism over the country’s cost-of-living crisis. Despite a decline in annual inflation from its previous peaks, it is still above 30 percent, and many households say food, rent and other basic expenses remain unaffordable.