Turkish grocers pull peppers, eggplants after Erdogan warns of price 'treason'
The Turkish leader is pressuring retailers to drop their prices to tame inflation, singling out grocers for high prices on some of the country’s staple foods.
ISTANBUL — Supermarkets have begun pulling vegetables from their shelves rather than risk the wrath of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has accused them of price gouging amid an economic downturn, newspapers reported.
Inflation is stuck above 20% after a currency crisis erupted in August over worries about Turkey’s overheating economy and diplomatic sparring with the United States. Since then, Erdogan has bullied businesses into lowering prices and banks into reducing interest on loans ahead of nationwide municipal elections in March, when the rapidly slowing economy could sap support for his party.
