ANKARA: Turkey’s inflation in November hit its highest annual rate in 14 years at nearly 13 percent, according to official data released Monday.
Consumer prices rose 12.98 percent last month from the same period in 2016, the state statistics agency said, the highest annual rate recorded since December 2003.
Inflation had been 11.9 percent in October.
Monthly inflation meanwhile was up 1.49 percent in November from October, with transport, clothing and food showing strong rises.
The rise was sharper than analysts had predicted, and comes after the Turkish lira’s value against the US dollar declined by 13.5 percent since September.
Economists said that annual inflation would probably come down from December onwards but said it was still likely to remain in double digits.
Gokce Celik, chief economist at QNB Finansbank, said year-on-year inflation “is likely to spend the first half of the year (2018) above 10.5 percent.”
The Turkish central bank will hold its regular monetary policy committee meeting on Dec. 14 to decide on interest rates.
Liam Carson, Emerging Europe economist at London-based Capital Economics, said in a note the rise in inflation was “likely to prompt a rate hike next week.”
Economists agreed the bank needed to make a meaningful hike to interest rates but Inan Demir of Nomura International said this was “unlikely.”
“A large hike of several hundred basis points looks unlikely unless renewed (Turkish lira) depreciation pressures force the bank’s hand,” Demir said in a note.
The lira hit a record low of 3.97 against the greenback last month.
The Turkish currency was at 3.92 at 11.00 a.m. GMT on Monday.
Since the New York trial of a Turkish banker accused of violating US sanctions against Iran started last week, the lira has traded at more than 3.90 to the US dollar.
Turkish-Iranian gold trader Reza Zarrab, the prosecution’s star witness, admitted to being involved in a multibillion-dollar gold-for-oil scheme.
He also implicated President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the scheme allegedly designed to subvert sanctions, and admitted to bribing a former Turkish economy minister.
A guilty verdict in the trial that Ankara calls a “plot” against Turkey could see one or more Turkish banks fined, a move analysts say would hurt the country’s economy.
Turkey inflation hits highest level since 2003
Turkey inflation hits highest level since 2003
Arab food and beverage sector draws $22bn in foreign investment over 2 decades: Dhaman
JEDDAH: Foreign investors committed about $22 billion to the Arab region’s food and beverage sector over the past two decades, backing 516 projects that generated roughly 93,000 jobs, according to a new sectoral report.
In its third food and beverage industry study for 2025, the Arab Investment and Export Credit Guarantee Corp., known as Dhaman, said the bulk of investment flowed to a handful of markets. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Morocco and Qatar attracted 421 projects — about 82 percent of the total — with capital expenditure exceeding $17 billion, or nearly four-fifths of overall investment.
Projects in those five countries accounted for around 71,000 jobs, representing 76 percent of total employment created by foreign direct investment in the sector over the 2003–2024 period, the report said, according to figures carried by the Kuwait News Agency.
“The US has been the region's top food and beverage investor over the past 22 years with 74 projects or 14 projects of the total, and Capex of approximately $4 billion or 18 percent of the total, creating more than 14,000 jobs,” KUNA reported.
Investment was also concentrated among a small group of multinational players. The sector’s top 10 foreign investors accounted for roughly 15 percent of projects, 32 percent of capital expenditure and 29 percent of newly created jobs.
Swiss food group Nestlé led in project count with 14 initiatives, while Ukrainian agribusiness firm NIBULON topped capital spending and job creation, investing $2 billion and generating around 6,000 jobs.
At the inter-Arab investment level, the report noted that 12 Arab countries invested in 108 projects, accounting for about 21 percent of total FDI projects in the sector over the past 22 years. These initiatives, carried out by 65 companies, involved $6.5 billion in capital expenditure, representing 30 percent of total FDI, and generated nearly 28,000 jobs.
The UAE led inter-Arab investments, accounting for 45 percent of total projects and 58 percent of total capital expenditure, the report added, according to KUNA.
The report also noted that the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Qatar topped the Arab ranking as the most attractive countries for investment in the sector in 2024, followed by Oman, Bahrain, Algeria, Morocco, and Kuwait.
Looking ahead, Dhaman expects consumer demand to continue rising. Food and non-alcoholic beverage sales across 16 Arab countries are projected to increase 8.6 percent to more than $430 billion by the end of 2025, equivalent to 4.2 percent of global sales, before exceeding $560 billion by 2029.
Sales are expected to remain highly concentrated geographically, with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, the UAE and Iraq accounting for about 77 percent of the regional total. By product category, meat and poultry are forecast to lead with sales of about $106 billion, followed by cereals, pasta and baked goods at roughly $63 billion.
Average annual per capita spending on food and non-alcoholic beverages in the region is projected to rise 7.2 percent to more than $1,845 by the end of 2025, approaching the global average, and to reach about $2,255 by 2029. Household spending on these products is expected to represent 25.8 percent of total expenditure in 13 Arab countries, above the global average of 24.2 percent.
Arab external trade in food and beverages grew more than 15 percent in 2024 to $195 billion, with exports rising 18 percent to $56 billion and imports increasing 14 percent to $139 billion. Brazil was the largest foreign supplier to the region, exporting $16.5 billion worth of products, while Saudi Arabia ranked as the top Arab exporter at $6.6 billion.
