Opposition party Antalya Senator Cetin Osman Budak spoke to the press and remarked that tomatoes are sold for 0.15 USD per kg whereas cucumber is sold for 0.04 USD per kg at Antalya wholesale halls. The senator: “These price levels are not high enough even to cover the labor costs and at this level, we are in danger of forcing the growers to leave their products on the ground instead of harvesting it. If that were to happen, then we can definitely experience a tomato shortage in the beginning of August.
"Even worse, we still do not observe this drop in grower prices to be reflected in retail prices. Consumers still keep paying 5 to 10 times more than the grower price for these products.
"I would like to ask the Ministry of Agriculture about what kind of work they are doing to lower the price differences between the grower and retail prices in order to ensure that both consumers and growers will benefit from it. I’m also wondering what the Ministry officials are doing to lower the production costs of the growers, especially when it comes to fuel and energy costs."
Source: Dunya