A remarkable statement regarding food inflation, which has been on Turkey’s agenda for a long time, came from Galip Aykaç, the senior manager of BİM, one of the chain markets that President Erdoğan put on the target board. Aykaç, who served as the President of the Food Retailers Association (GPD) in addition to his duty at BİM, said that the public pressure after Erdoğan’s statements was “unjust”.
According to President Erdogan, behind the exorbitant price increases in food prices, there were five big chain markets in Turkey. It was not clearly stated, but BİM was one of them. Replying to Erdogan’s statements by saying, “We do not accept the unfair public perception made through us,” Aykaç stated that even price increases are not a deliberate practice. A similar statement was made by Murat Ülker, the owner of Şok Market in the past.
“We renounce profit”
The following statements were included in the statements made by Galip Aykaç:
We are going through a period of economic difficulties. We are trying not to reflect the increased prices on the consumer. We waive the profit in order not to pass on the increased prices to the consumer. Where organized retailing rises, inflation declines. The most important reason why high PPI is not reflected in CPI is chain markets. In addition to the increase in prices, the deterioration of income distribution exacerbates the problems. We do not accept the unfair public perception made through us. No retailer raises prices out of the blue, the entire supply chain should be looked at. We hope that this period that we are in and that we are not satisfied with will be overcome.
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