Kumpir Price Surge Tells a Different Story Than Turkey's Official Inflation Data

Turkey's official inflation figures say one thing, but the price of Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek's favorite baked potato tells another story. The vegetable-filled kumpir that Şimşek ordered at an Ankara shopping mall near his home cost 80 lira on June 4, 2023, the day he took office. By August 18, 2023, the same kumpir had jumped to 175 lira, a rise of more than 100 percent.

Today, the dish — now renamed 'Vegetarian' on the menu — costs 400 lira at the same mall, a 400 percent increase, or fivefold, in three years. The kumpir contains kaşar cheese, mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, corn, black olives and mozzarella. The 'Super Vegetarian' version, which adds broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, peas and kapya pepper, costs 425 lira.

At the 'Kumpirevi' stand on the mall's food floor, the cheapest kumpir, cheese-only, sells for 335 lira, while the most expensive 'Super Mixed Kumpir' — with kaşar, sausage, Russian salad, Italian salad, mushrooms and chicken — goes for 550 lira. Youth and children's menus range from 450 to 540 lira. The Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) reported August inflation at 1.84 percent monthly and 31.51 percent annually.