Housing, food and global developments key inflation factors: Şimşek

Ebru Karatosun-ANKARA

Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek told lawmakers from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) that housing, food and international developments were the three main reasons inflation had not fallen.

During a presentation on recent economic developments to lawmakers, Şimşek said rent inflation had fallen to 20 percent after homes in the earthquake region began to be delivered to residents. He added that social housing projects would be accelerated further in the coming period.

Şimşek also said the government plans to introduce new support packages to improve access to credit and facilitate the transition to high technology. The defense industry was highlighted as one of the priority sectors for future policy efforts, according to participants in the meeting.

The draft law regulating wholesale produce markets also came up during the meeting. Şimşek said work is underway to develop organized agricultural zones under the proposal. The initiative could shorten transportation distances in major cities, enable products to reach consumers directly and reduce losses during distribution

Savings measures were also discussed at the meeting. Şimşek said current expenditures had fallen from 4.5 percent to 2.9 percent. He added  that figures indicated that 200 billion Turkish Liras had not been spent.