Turkey eases limits on livestock and meat imports

The Turkish government has lifted restrictions on the import of livestock, meat and fish to help curb price increases, according to Foreign Trade Minister Zafer Çağlayan.

The move comes after red meat prices surged in the past few months, defying the global trend of price declines.

The decision was made in the wake of comments by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan, who said he was concerned at the increase in the price of red meat and urged the cabinet to do whatever necessary to rectify the situation.

Nurettin Kaldırımcı, head of the Competition Board, said that an initial assessment of the market had shown no evidence of price-fixing and that allowing imports may be a solution.

Last week, government officials blamed speculators for the rising prices. Grocery prices rose 11.2% on the year until March, faster than the overall rate of inflation, which was 9.6% during the same period.