Record inflation squeezes Turkish tobacco workers, owners

By EMRAH GUREL and SUZAN FRASER
Associated Press

CELIKHAN, Turkey (AP) — Tobacco growers in southeast Turkey’s Celikhan district are feeling the pinch as annual inflation reaches a new 24-year high. Official data released Monday shows consumer prices rose 83.45% from a year earlier, further hitting households already facing high energy, food and housing costs. Experts say the real rate of inflation is much higher, at an eye-watering 186%. While countries worldwide are hit by soaring prices, economists believe Turkey’s woes are self-inflicted as the central bank cuts interest rates. In Celikhan, 19-year-old Mehmet Emin Cakan works two shifts harvesting and then stringing the tobacco to help support his family and pay for books to study. Tobacco growers say rising costs from fuel and fertilizers have seriously affected their livelihood.