The Turkish parliament complain about the increase of fertilizer prices and the suffering of farmers
The opposition Republican People’s Party parliamentarian Burak Arbaye climbed onto the podium with a box of oranges; his act surprised those present.
Farmers in Turkey complain that the cost of imported production is rising, mostly from abroad, as the value of the lira declines.
The Turks are experiencing an unprecedented economic crisis, with the lira falling, prices rising, and inflation.
Arbaye said he acted to draw attention to the problems of orange producers, noting that he is the son of an orange producing family and that all orange producers are now in a difficult situation.
Arbaye added: “Villagers can’t buy fertilizers, they can’t buy pesticides, lemon producers in Mersin cut trees … the lemon production is over… If the crisis is not resolved, the citrus trees will have to be cut down”.
The Turkish MP poured oranges on the podium after his speech. Parliament Deputy Speaker Jalal Adan warned him: “you are doing wrong”, Republican People’s Party deputies applauded Arbaye and collected oranges from front of the podium.
Republican People’s Party MP Ilhami Ozgan has also taken to the parliamentary podium with products he bought from the market, such as mangoes, milk, eggs, sunflower oil, cheese and coffee, and talked about the rising prices.
