President Erdoğan's message on minimum wage: "We will not allow any segment to be crushed by inflation."

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During the G20 Leaders Summit, President Erdoğan, who was returning from Brazil, answered journalists' questions on the plane and made statements regarding the economic agenda and minimum wage.

Stating that "Our goal is to permanently increase the purchasing power of all segments of our society," Erdoğan continued with the following remarks: "The way to achieve this is to reduce inflation to a single digit permanently. We had anticipated our first year as a transition to disinflation. Since May, there has been a decrease in inflation, and this decline will continue. By 2025, especially with the delayed effects of monetary policy, the reduction of the budget deficit in fiscal policy, and the need to align prices within the framework of budgetary possibilities with the inflation target, we will continue to reduce inflation.

"LAST YEAR INFLATION WAS 65%, WE INCREASED BY 49%"

Look, last year we increased the minimum wage for our brothers and sisters by 107.5%. Last year's inflation was 65%. This year we increased it by 49%. As of October, inflation is below 49%. In other words, we will finish the year at around 44% according to the predictions of our Central Bank. In summary, we will not allow any segment of society, including our retirees, civil servants, or minimum wage earners, to be crushed by inflation. This has been the case for the last 22 years, and it has been the same for the last year; it has not changed this year.

"INFLATION HAS ENTERED A PERMANENT DECLINE TREND"

The opposition exploits this issue, but we will continue to act within the same principles in the upcoming period and will treat our employees in a way that preserves their purchasing power above inflation. However, the essential thing is to permanently reduce inflation. The inflation rate for basic goods that our citizens purchase is 28.5%. For goods including fruits and vegetables, it is around 40%. The inflation that currently keeps the rate a bit high is in services such as rent and private education. Inflation has entered a permanent decline trend, and hopefully, it will continue on this path.

"I GAVE INSTRUCTIONS FOR CATTLE IMPORT"

I would also like to say this: We are planning to take another step. This is to ensure better access to red meat by importing cattle. We discussed this with our Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, İbrahim Yumaklı. I have given the instruction to import cattle from Uruguay and Brazil quickly if necessary, so that citizens can access red meat at the prices they expect. We will evaluate this and take these steps as well.