"People's Inflation" Report from United Public-Is: Food Prices Increased by 5.7 Percent in September, Hunger Risk Deepens!

ANKARA - KAMUAR, the R&D unit of the United Public-Is Confederation, announced the results of the "People's Inflation" survey for September 2025. According to the report, prices in the basket of 64 basic food items that people consume the most increased by 5.7 percent in September compared to the previous month. In the first nine months of the year, the total increase in food prices reached 34.2 percent, while the increase in the last year was 61.5 percent. The report noted that the risk of hunger is growing.

Food Prices Have Been Rising for 64 Months in a Row

According to data compiled by CAMUAR from chain supermarkets across Turkey, food prices rose rapidly in September after August. With the 5.7 percent increase in September, food prices have been rising for 64 consecutive months. Average food prices for the last 12 months increased by 57.4 percent compared to the previous 12-month average.

Main Findings:

• Monthly Increase (September 2025): 5.7%

• Nine-Month Increase (January-September 2025): 34.2%

• Yearly Increase (Last 12 Months): 61.5%

• Average Annual Increase (Average of the Last 12 Months): 57.4%

Bill of High Inflation on the Shoulders of the People

United Kamu-İş stated that wage earners, low-income earners and the poor continue to pay the heaviest bill of the high inflation process that Turkey has been dragged into due to the wrong policies of the government because of food prices.

The report revealed that the increase in food prices since September 2021 reached 1,394 percent. For a food basket purchased for 100 liras in September 2021, citizens paid 1,494 liras in September 2025. It was emphasized that the increase in the wages of public employees in the same period was 1.034 percent, meaning that the average public employee wage increased to 1,134 liras as of August 2025. This shows that the increase in wages is not enough to cover the increase in food prices and that purchasing power continues to erode.

Price Increases by Expenditure Groups

In September, all food expenditure groups experienced high price increases:

• Bread-Rice-Flour-Bulgur: 1.8%

• Meat and Fish: 0.6%

• Milk, Dairy Products and Eggs: 5.9%

• Fat (excluding butter): 6.4%

• Fruit: 12%

• Vegetables: 12%

• Pulses: 6.3%

• Other processed food (tomato paste, olives, honey, tea, salt, etc.): 12.7%

Group Increases in the First Nine Months of the Year:

• Bread, rice, flour, bulgur, pasta: 13.1%

• White and red meat: 50.3%

• Milk, dairy products and eggs: 30.4%

• Fat: 20.7%

• Fruit: 70.8%

• Vegetables: 23.4%

• Pulses: 14.4%

• Other processed food: 24.7%

Group Increases in the Last Year (September 2024-September 2025):

• Bread, flour, bulgur, pasta: 30.8%

• Fish and meat: 65.9%

• Milk and dairy products and eggs: 37.4%

• Fat: 34%

• Fruit: 189.2%

• Vegetables: 92.3%

• Pulses: 23.3%

• Other food: 37.9%

The report said that the annual increase in food prices, after falling to 52.3 percent in July, rose to 54.5 percent in August and 61.5 percent in September. Attention was also drawn to the discrepancy between TURKSTAT's August statistics and its calculation of the annual increase in food prices as 33.28 percent.

With these data, the United Public Workers Confederation emphasized once again that the risk of hunger is growing and the struggle for life of citizens with low income is getting worse.