The prices for certain agricultural products impacted by severe frost could soar by up to 50 percent, potentially prompting Türkiye to turn to fruit imports, warn experts.
The frost, among the harshest Türkiye has ever faced, devastated fruit trees across many regions, leaving farmers in distress and raising concerns about its impact on prices.
Turkish Agriculturists' Association President Hüseyin Demirtaş warned that for the first time, Türkiye may need to import fruit, highlighting the severe impact of the frost.
“Prices will increase by at least 25 percent, maybe even up to 50 percent. We are likely to see an increase in food inflation,” he added.
The frost impacted a wide range of produce, including apricots, potatoes, apples, sugar beets, walnut cherries, plums, walnuts and peaches, all of which sustained significant damage, according to Baki Remzi Suiçmez, president of the Board of the Chamber of Agricultural Engineers.
He predicts that prices will probably rise at least 50 percent. In the face of this unfavorable development, farmers' loan interest payments should either be waived or deferred, Suiçmez suggested.
Fresh fruit and vegetable prices already surged 10.2 percent monthly in March, which translated into an annualized inflation of 62.5 percent in those items, according to the latest official data.