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A family of four in Türkiye needed ₺36,939.87 ($779.08) in July to afford the minimum healthy diet, with the monthly food bill rising by ₺1,180.99, or 3.3%, from the previous month, according to the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (Turk-Is).
The amount, known as the hunger threshold, pushed the gap with Türkiye's net monthly minimum wage to ₺8,864.37, or 31.6%, in July, without taking into account other essential expenses such as housing, transportation, utilities, healthcare and education.
The confederation estimated the poverty threshold, which includes food along with other essential living costs, at ₺120,325.30 in the same month, while the monthly cost of living for a single worker reached ₺47,758.39.
Food prices rose 22.54% since the beginning of the year, while annual food inflation reached 39.85%, it added. During the month, fresh fruit and vegetable prices continued to move higher despite expectations that seasonal harvests would bring relief.
Turk-Is said prices for potatoes and onions recorded particularly sharp increases, while leafy vegetables also became more expensive. The confederation noted that continued price hikes in staple products place additional pressure on low- and fixed-income households, eroding their purchasing power.
Based on prices collected for 34 products, including 22 vegetables and 12 fruits, the average vegetable price reached ₺111.76 per kilogram, while fruit averaged ₺147.50 per kilogram. The combined average stood at ₺117.50 per kilogram.
In its assessment, Turk-Is argued that protecting workers' and retirees' incomes against the rising cost of living remains critical, reiterating its warning that inflation continues to weaken purchasing power.
It also criticized the government's decision not to raise the minimum wage in the second half of the year, arguing that it had further weakened the purchasing power of millions of workers.
The Turk-Is survey comes ahead of Türkiye's official July inflation data, scheduled to be released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) on Aug. 3.
Economists expect Türkiye's annual consumer inflation to ease to around 31.6% in July from 32.1% in June, while monthly inflation is forecast to accelerate to 1.7%, driven by higher food and energy prices, according to the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye's (CBRT) latest Survey of Market Participants.
Food inflation has remained one of the biggest contributors to household expenses. In June, prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages were 35.45% higher than a year earlier, Turkstat data showed.
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