When I moved to England in the late 1980s I was surprised by the prices of fresh fruits and vegetables. Having lived in Turkey for about 10 years, I was used to buying a kilo of oranges, a kilo of grapefruits and a kilo of… Ironically, much of the fruit on sale there was imported from Turkey!Turkey is fairly self-sufficient and produces it own food supply and exports to neighboring countries.
Farmers everywhere are seeing some hard days. In most developing or third world countries, village life is hard and poverty is common. If you have traveled around Turkey you will have noticed that women work in the fields. Villages are a world controlled by men, where much of the hard labor both in and out of the home is done by women. It is also typically feudal. The term “ağa” means local big landowner. It seems the landowner and powerful elite control the villages and regions. Many of the farms are owned by one wealthy man who hires farmhands. The rural areas are poor and production lacks technology. It has real potential for agricultural development and growth. This seems to be hindered by mismanagement and fear of upsetting the powerful rural elite.
Similarly, many other countries around the world still developing or in poverty could change the situation if trained and equipped to use modern agricultural technology. Perhaps the world would not be in such a state now!
Did any of you notice that rice was hard to find here this past week? A couple of days ago I discovered that jasmine rice was not available in a few stores where it is usually stocked. Alarmed by today’s morning world news, I realized that it is more serious than what I thought.
It reminded me of when it was hard to find certain basic items about three decades ago. If you visited Turkey back then you know it was hard to find basic items here. If you were shopping for items produced or manufactured in Turkey you could find it, but no imports! For visitors who have come since the 1980s, it is hard to imagine this.
More recently I have sensed some Turks’ hostility toward the dollar and how it affects their lives here. Americans who are not globetrotters don’t realize how much impact their currency has on the global market because they are caught up in their own little world at home. Until you have traveled abroad you can’t understand. When the news announcer reports the five-minute segment on world news on the local channel that food prices have soared worldwide in recent months, it falls on deaf ears. The average person just doesn’t realize how widely it affects the global wallet. The announcement today by a mega-retailer in America limiting how many bags of rice the consumer can buy will definitely get people’s attention! I have experiences rationing in other foreign countries such Eastern Europe under communism, but not my home country.
It is hard for Westerners to comprehend the price of crude oil in Turkey, since it is in the Middle East! People always think it is cheaper here. With crude oil prices reaching a new record-high and food prices remaining under pressure because of global shortages, let’s brace ourselves for more inflation in the coming months.
The madness of being thrifty these days may not be such a bad idea. Many of my friends back home unwind by going to annual sales, farmers markets and thrift shops. They would admit they are thrift-shopaholics. Our approach may take on a slightly different form. As the global economy and shortages affect us wherever we are, it may pay off to begin to do some form of alternative thrift shopping for your need. The old parts of İstanbul are similar to the medieval European city layout -- some types of goods tend to be together in the same street, e.g., there will be the bookshop area of town, a street of clothes shops, a street with hardware goods, chandeliers, music instruments, pharmacists, butchers, markets, etc. These are great places to start for beginners! You can broaden your search map as you determine your need and decide on your search route. Remember, you need to save on petrol, too!
Turkey is in a position to look to the East and the West as an export hub and is in the process of doing something about it. But there could be items you find hard to get…make plans!
When you’ve got the dollar being at such historical lows against the yen, the Chinese currencies, the Euro, it is going to affect us all -- globally.
Brace yourself for more day-to-day prices to soar!
I think more than ever when a Turkish shopkeeper has his first transaction for the day, he will be sure to scrape the edge of the money on his chin which means “may God bless and multiply this.”
Note: Charlotte McPherson is the author of “Culture Smart: Turkey, 2005.” Please keep your questions and observations coming: I want to ensure this column is a help to you, Today’s Zaman’s readers. Email: c.mcpherson@todayszaman.com
