Page 19 - TURKRptOct21

Botas hiked residential natural gas prices by 12% as of July 1. In the first six months of 2021, Botas hiked residential natural gas prices by 1% each month.
Botas also hiked natural gas prices for power plants by 20.23% as of July 1. As of June 1, natural gas prices for power plants were hiked by 1% after a 12% hike as of May 1.
There’s a similar picture with electricity, while there is no disputing soaring prices in food and basic consumption goods, at least not for anyone who goes through the sobering experience of entering a Turkish supermarket.
As of October 1, Botas increased prices of natural gas for industrial users and electricity power plants by 15%.
The price of natural gas for residential use, however, remained unchanged.
Industrial users will pay Turkish lira (TRY) 2,358 (€229) for 1,000 cubic metres of natural gas while electricity generating power plants will be charged TRY 2,724, starting October 1.
Meanwhile, the energy market regulator, EPDK, announced on September 30 that electricity prices will not be hiked for October. Opposition parties speculated that no price hikes for residential use was a result of their ongoing campaigns to create awareness over upcoming price hikes in utilities.
Natural gas prices have soared by around 280% in Europe this year and by more than 100% in the US.
Turkey’s gas consumption is expected to hit 60bn cubic metres (bcm) this year, almost a fifth higher than earlier estimates given how mothballed gas plants have been restarted to make up for shortfalls in drought-hit hydro power plants.
As of October 1, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices in Turkey were also hiked. Tax (VAT) reliefs were ended. Glassmaker Sisecam, meanwhile, pushed up its sale prices by around 20%.
As of October 4, Philip Morris increased its cigarette prices.
Vehicle prices recently declined after a tax cut but they have doubled since last year. BloombergHT reported the TUIK’s official passenger car price declined by 3.4% m/m in August. It did not draw attention to the annual price change, but its chart showed that the TUIK price rose to TRY293,000 in August from about TRY150,000 a year ago.
Turkey’s broiler sector is facing an assortment of difficulties including high feed prices and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a US Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA) report.
Turkey’s dependence on imported raw feed material, combined with high feed prices, restrict the growth of the sector.
Turkey’s broiler meat production has stagnated for two years, during which feed prices have been on the increase. In 2020, broiler feed prices were up 60% y/y.
Other problems include a shortage of slaughterhouse capacity, the prolonged drought that has hit Turkey and the depreciation of the Turkish lira. Food outlet closures due to the pandemic were also a factor in the described stagnation.
The USDA estimated that broiler production volumes for 2021 in Turkey would
19 TURKEY Country Report October 2021 www.intellinews.com