Turkish agricultural debt reaches 1.459 trillion lira

Turkish agricultural producers are facing a severe debt crisis, with sector-wide debt to banks reaching 1.459 trillion lira. CHP Member of Parliament Ömer Fethi Gürer highlighted the increasing frequency of legal foreclosures on agricultural products, noting a recent case where 65,000 kilograms of apples were seized for sale to settle debts.

Gürer emphasized that rising input costs for fuel, fertilizer, and seeds, combined with low product value at harvest, are pushing farmers into an economic bottleneck. He called for immediate government intervention, including the restructuring of debts and the provision of additional credit support.

Concurrently, CHP Deputy Chair Gamze Akkuş İlgezdi criticized the government's agricultural and economic policies, stating that Turkey currently ranks third globally in food inflation, trailing only countries facing extreme crises like Venezuela. İlgezdi warned that poor management of the agricultural and livestock sectors is driving millions of citizens below the hunger threshold.