The Turkish Trade Ministry said on Monday it had asked 114 companies for their defense of what it described as excessive price hikes as part of a probe into thousands of companies after inflation hit a 15-year high.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said Turkey would impose fines on “opportunists” who raise prices after a slide in the value of the lira. He has also called on Turks to report stores that imposed unusual price hikes.
The ministry said in a statement it had inspected 3,974 companies and 69,200 products nationwide. The investigation does not aim to intervene in the free market system but to prevent injustices due to unfair price hikes, the ministry added.