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The price of simit, a sesame-covered ring-shaped bread and a common breakfast choice in Istanbul, rose to ₺30 ($0.61) from ₺25 on Saturday, Sept. 26, marking a ₺5 or 20%, increase.
Residents encountered the new price at bakeries and simit stalls during the morning after the higher rate took effect. The increase came as the previous ₺25 price was replaced by a ₺30 tag across the city, according to local reports.
The higher price directly raised the cost of one of Istanbul’s most commonly purchased breakfast items. Simit has long been a convenient option for people heading to work or school, including students who often choose it as a relatively affordable morning meal.
Bakers and simit sellers point to rising production and operating expenses behind the increase.
Flour, sesame, and yeast prices have gone up, while businesses are also facing higher costs for running their operations, local reports said. Those expenses have pushed up the cost of producing and selling simit, according to bakers.
Consumer prices in Türkiye climbed 31.5% year-on-year in August and 1.8% from July, while food and non-alcoholic beverage prices climbed 33.8% over the same period, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).
Istanbul’s inflation, meanwhile, came in at 35% year-on-year in August, rising 1.6% on a monthly basis, while food prices increased 34.8% from a year earlier, the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ICOC) reported.
Higher prices also increase pressure on household budgets, as the monthly basic food cost for a family of four rose to ₺37,388 in August, the country's largest trade union confederation, the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (Turk-Is), said.
The poverty threshold, which covers food and other basic expenses, reached ₺121,786, while a single worker’s monthly living cost climbed to ₺48,305.
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