The program titled "Total Fight Against Inflation" was presented at the Istanbul Congress Center with Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank, Labor, Social Services and Family Minister Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk and Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli joining Albayrak to announce the measures.
Turkish Industry and Business Association (TÜSİAD) President Erol Bilecik, Demirören Holding Board Chairman Yıldırım Demirören, Boyner Group CEO Cem Boyner, Zorlu Holding Board Chairman Ahmet Nazif Zorlu, Koç Holding Board Chairman Ömer Koç, Koç Holding Deputy Board Chairman Ali Koç, Eczacıbaşı Holding Board Chairman Bülent Eczacıbaşı, Anadolu Group Board Chairman Tuncay Özilhan and The Banks Association of Turkey (TBB) President Hüseyin Aydın were among the key businesspeople representing the country's largest private sector players.
Among the measures announced to curb inflation were a campaign of minimum 10 percent nationwide cutback on prices by participating companies, which would feature the campaign's logo on their products. A website was also launched for the campaign.
Albayrak said that there would be no increase in electricity and natural gas prices until the end of 2018 unless there would be an affecting issue on the global scale.
Banks will decrease increase rates by 10 percent for loans issued after Aug. 1, Albayrak said.
The repayments of value-added tax (VAT) returns will be accelerated and concluded by the end of the year, he added.
Albayrak said that the process to change the grocery market law to decrease the prices of groceries will be concluded this month and the bill will be presented to the parliament.
The increase in food prices constitute the main reason fueling Turkey's inflation, which hit 24.52 percent in September year-on-year, up 6.3 percent from the previous month, according to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TürkStat). Inflation climbed for a sixth straight month, hitting its highest level in 15 years.
As noted in Turkey's new economy program announced last month, the country's inflation rate target is 20.8 percent this year, 15.9 percent next year, 9.8 percent in 2020, and 6.0 percent in 2021.
