Liberal Party Responds to Mehmet Şimşek: “Markets and Street Bazaars Are Not the Cause of Inflation”

Comments made by Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek during a CNN Türk program have sparked political debate. Şimşek stated that fruit and vegetable prices in supermarkets tend to decline on days when local street markets are held and suggested expanding this effect.

“We go to the market not so much to monitor prices, but rather to chat with my wife,” Şimşek said.

He added:

“Whenever there is a street market in a neighborhood, all fruit and vegetable prices in supermarkets fall. Why shouldn’t we extend this to all neighborhoods, seven days a week? We are brainstorming on this.”

Following these remarks, the Liberal Party issued a response through its official social media account.

The party’s statement reads as follows:

“Markets and Street Bazaars Are Not the Cause of Inflation”

The Minister may have missed this while chatting with his wife at the market, but the high prices felt by the public are not caused by supermarkets or market days.

❗️The real causes of inflation are the unbacked money printed by the Central Bank, unchecked government waste, and the heavy tax burden placed on producers.

The idea of having a market every day reflects a nostalgic longing for state-run sales points and a planned economy. Since the Soviet Union, every attempt by governments to control prices and supply has ultimately resulted in shortages and black markets.

If the Minister truly wants prices to fall 24 hours a day, seven days a week, he should stop brainstorming at the ministry and take the following steps:

🔹 Reduce the tax burden on producers, transporters, and small businesses, as well as the Special Consumption Tax (ÖTV) on fuel.

🔹 Stop intervening in markets and encourage domestic and foreign investment by guaranteeing property rights and the rule of law.

🔹 Implement genuine fiscal discipline and reduce inflation at its source—government spending itself.

❗️Economies grow not through decisions made by bureaucrats behind desks, but through the free choices of individuals.

❗️As the Liberal Party, we will continue to stand against populist and interventionist economic approaches and remain committed to defending free markets, competition, and property rights.

The Liberal Party’s response has reignited discussions over inflation-fighting policies and the role of government in the economy. While the party argues that rising prices stem primarily from monetary and fiscal policies rather than market actors, it maintains that strengthening free-market mechanisms is the most effective path toward sustainable price stability.

Economic measures aimed at controlling food prices and combating inflation are expected to remain under close public scrutiny in the coming months.