20 June 2018•Update: 20 June 2018
By Muhammed Ali Gurtas
ANKARA
Turkey saw the highest price level for consumer goods and services in personal transport equipment sub-group in 2017 with an index value of 105, five percent above the European Union’s (EU) average, according to an official report on Wednesday.
The country's statistical authority, Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), noted that the price level index for consumer goods and services based on purchasing power parity in Turkey was 53 in 2017, while the average for EU28 was accepted as 100.
"This figure represents that the same basket of [consumer] goods and services purchased for the cost of €100 ($116) in total of 28 EU countries, could be purchased for €53 ($61) in Turkey," TurkStat said.
Regarding the sub-groups, the consumer electronics -- televisions, audio systems, desktop and laptop computers etc.-- indices with 89 followed the personal transport equipment sub-group, including motor cars, motor cycles and bicycles.
"On the other hand, price level index of Turkey was lower than other groups for restaurant and hotels index with 63," TurkStat said, adding: "For clothing group, Turkey had an index with 54, which is the lowest index among the all countries included in the comparisons."
The institute reported that the figure for food and non-alcoholic beverages was 79, while the alcoholic beverages and tobacco -- wine, beer and other alcoholic beverages, tobacco -- index was 77 last year.
The official report includes data from the EU28 countries plus three European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries -- Switzerland, Iceland and Norway -- and five candidate countries -- Turkey, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Albania -- along with one potential candidate country, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
TurkStat noted that if a country’s price level index is higher than 100, the country concerned is relatively expensive to the average of compared country group and if it is lower than 100 than it is relatively cheap against the same compared group.
According to the official data, most expensive country in consumer goods and services was Iceland with an index value of 166 while Macedonia was the cheapest one with 47 last year, among of 37 countries included in the comparison program.
