Kibkom North Cyprus Forum

Supposedly trnc are increasing wages every four months by cost of living. Seems unsustainable but that's just my opinion. TL has been flat and speaking to Turkish business owner in Turkey the minimum wage isn't going up in the coming months as the economy can't sustain it .

The minimum wage against the trnc economy doesn't seem to fit & one would expect some conflict from turkey who are supporting trnc ..minimum wage here has always been higher here than Turkey but it's now c 65 % more which I believe is the widest in the history .

Waiting to see what happens. Can't see anything in the press about wage committees meeting but another c 25% rise would take wages to c 36000 TL well above even greek Cyprus ...with the economy here that seems suicidal.

It's part of the reason a kg of potatoes here is 100 tl whilst only 12 tl in turkey .plus A few controlling the import are filling their sacks and not with potatoes .

Quite right, the potatoes are paying for the two Ferraris and a Porshe parked outside a bank in Alsancak last week. BTW they were TC not Russians driving them.

Unfortunately it will probably be discussed once the date of increase has passed or the week before to have it backdated.the employer does not have to pay the increase social and provident until 16th October but in anticipation of 20% increase the shops and all those that sell will start putting prices up asap. Forgot and when announced up again.

Vicious circle wages up, bills up and even worse rent in sterling up

Everything said by the people on this topic is totally correct. What is the matter with these people in power, cant they understand simply its just a vicous circle.

Wages up Prices up and so it goes on and on.

I feel that no landlord shoud be able to charge rent in anything other than T.L. and rent rises need capping immediatley. Landlords here are taking the P--s now out of many many hard working very poor people.

Paying for anything in a foreign currency if you earn tl is hard.
Rent should definitely be looked at but then there will be nothing for workers to rent, it's already a small market for them anyway. Landlord's seem to rather have an empty property, feel sorry for restaurant owners who will need to renew their contracts in the future.

They tried forcing turkish lira to rent in COVID by law it didn't work. Also capping has been tried in places apparently with mixed results. They have it in Turkey but rents there are just as expensive as here albeit in mostly Turkish lira . Tl has been flat now for a good while as long as interest rates remain high it might stay so. When I came in c 2011 there had been a period of a few years where rates where high and the currency didn't depreciate much we could be entering a similar period so tl rents may not be the answer . In the last 13 years rents have just gone up with global inflation a 3 bed flat in kyrenia centre use to be £400 now it's c£700 over 13 years that's not huge inflation .. wages in £ terms mirror that so actually people here are not any poorer than they use to be 13'years ago regarding rental prices .restaurants imo in £ prices have more than doubled and this is what's got expensive . What use to be £5 is now £12-£15 a much higher proportional increase than rents . They need to freeze the salary increases like turkey are doing. Meat the and other produce the same disproportional increases against salary. Fillet steak a few years back use to be £10 per kg I've now seen at c £35.A Huge increase & it's not great from dairy cow apparently .

Rents in the last few years have doubled but that's because during COVID they went down a lot but if you look longer term they are in line with £ denominated local wage inflation .min wage use to be c £400 13 years ago it's now c £700 very similar to the increase in rental prices over that period . It's the other things that have gone up more.

Also on the subject of rents. A friend took his rental agreement to be registered and pay the tax etc.at the rental tax office in Girne last year. He was told that the rent wasn’t enough for the area the property was in. They refused to register it and he was told that for his area the rent must be at least £500 or £600 at least. He is a long term renter and the landlord was happy to keep the rent at £350 . So even if landlords are decent and charge a fair rent it may not be accepted

I met a very nice bloke yesterday who was staying with two other members of his family in an Air B and B down the road. They were having five days days break but actually lived in Antakia (spelling). The family were horrified at the cost of living here. The had just come back from an Alsancak supermarket and spent, for them, over a week in TL but only bought two days stock. He was absolutely staggered at the increase in prices between mainland and here "How do people afford to live here". he said. I could have gone on about minimum wages etc., but thought better of it and gave him the Cypriot shrug (I'm ashamed to say) !!!

My wife's sister's husband is staying from Istanbul . Not moaning about prices here but just making jokes . He has a few business including vegetable market stalls he rents . He was ringing the market holder up joking asking price of potatoes in Istanbul ..10-12 tl ...100 tl here . Also last night we were at iskele beach 1 corn on the cob 80 tl In Istanbul in the tourist area it's 20 tl. We are talking huge multiples of price which can only be explained by profiteering. It's not going to end well for the economy here as it's unsustainable as it's simply not that attractive for many to pay these prices for what's on offer.

What they can’t understand is by making large increases in wages can only respect in rises in prices. You can’t pay an employee more money than they earn. If your outfit doesn’t earn more how can you pay more money

gates wrote: ↑

Wed 07 Aug 2024 11:09 am

What they can’t understand is by making large increases in wages can only respect in rises in prices. You can’t pay an employee more money than they earn. If your outfit doesn’t earn more how can you pay more money

They are acting like Emirates but without the oil income ..

They must have their eyes on the gas then. Have you noticed the number of cars with UA on them these days it quite a common occurence outside my bank.

UA is Ukranian plate

Sorry, should have read UAE

Let the Tomatoes rot, they don't stay fresh long in this heat, don't buy them. Same as the potatoes then they might reconsider reviewing the prices? Probably not!

In Atakara supermarket there is a stall advertised as Kampagna (or something) I;s fruit and veg that by and large is unfit for human consumption and covered in fruit flies. However, I 've shopped in there and also Starlings and the veg is tasteless. Not so long ago I could pick toms up and they actually smelled as toms should NOW they are like UK veg.........look good and fresh but utterly tasteless. Skins like leather, hard and lacking in juice. Cucumbers the same, imported apples, oranges with thick skins and little juuce. Potatoes with more soil stuck to them than potatoes itself. Even in Sha last week, the veg were of poor quality. What is happening re fresh fruit here, is most of it imported now? It certainly wasn't not so many years ago. Food quality is certainly deteriorating. If I had the time and the energy, I suppose I could shop around, but haven't in the past and been fairly loyal

benjaminbutton wrote: ↑

Fri 09 Aug 2024 7:37 am

In Atakara supermarket there is a stall advertised as Kampagna (or something) I;s fruit and veg that by and large is unfit for human consumption and covered in fruit flies. However, I 've shopped in there and also Starlings and the veg is tasteless. Not so long ago I could pick toms up and they actually smelled as toms should NOW they are like UK veg.........look good and fresh but utterly tasteless. Skins like leather, hard and lacking in juice. Cucumbers the same, imported apples, oranges with thick skins and little juuce. Potatoes with more soil stuck to them than potatoes itself. Even in Sha last week, the veg were of poor quality. What is happening re fresh fruit here, is most of it imported now? It certainly wasn't not so many years ago. Food quality is certainly deteriorating. If I had the time and the energy, I suppose I could shop around, but haven't in the past and been fairly loyal

Most tomatoes are shipped unripe but have been exposed to methane? gas which makes them turn red. That’s why they are tasteless, but they do improve after a few days when they actually become ripe.

Brazen wrote: ↑

Fri 09 Aug 2024 9:03 am

benjaminbutton wrote: ↑

Fri 09 Aug 2024 7:37 am

In Atakara supermarket there is a stall advertised as Kampagna (or something) I;s fruit and veg that by and large is unfit for human consumption and covered in fruit flies. However, I 've shopped in there and also Starlings and the veg is tasteless. Not so long ago I could pick toms up and they actually smelled as toms should NOW they are like UK veg.........look good and fresh but utterly tasteless. Skins like leather, hard and lacking in juice. Cucumbers the same, imported apples, oranges with thick skins and little juuce. Potatoes with more soil stuck to them than potatoes itself. Even in Sha last week, the veg were of poor quality. What is happening re fresh fruit here, is most of it imported now? It certainly wasn't not so many years ago. Food quality is certainly deteriorating. If I had the time and the energy, I suppose I could shop around, but haven't in the past and been fairly loyal

Most tomatoes are shipped unripe but have been exposed to methane? gas which makes them turn red. That’s why they are tasteless, but they do improve after a few days when they actually become ripe.

It’s actually ethylene!

“Ethylene is also used commercially to speed up ripening. Commercial tomatoes are usually picked at or before mature green and stored cool to suspend the ripening process. When they are required for market, they are warmed up and treated with ethylene, so that they are ripe by the time they reach the store.

Artificial ripening of tomatoes that have not reached the breaker stage results in poor eating-quality fruit. That is why people complain about store bought tomatoes” from the web.

Must admit we are a bit spoiled having the fruit and veg warehouse in Tatlisu. I won't buy from anywhere else and well worth a visit if you are in this area. Bit far for many of you down Girne/Lapta way. Open Tues/Thurs/Sat only.
I get a shock when I see the offerings for sale in some supermarkets, it clearly is not fit for human consumption.
Must admit though that normal tomatoes are a huge disappointment with skins like shoe leather. They used to be so good here, it's so disappointing.

One thing I think is fair to mention Is that my Istanbul relative has said 3 - 4 months ago prices there where expensive 30-40 tl for various veg & fruits but have dropped dramatically ie potatoes tomatoes now 10 tl..he couldn't really explain the rationale I suspect a mixture of things like min wage tl frozen more stable tl & government price control. What's evidently clear is this price drop is not being passed on here and is why there is such a huge differential in pricing .

Supposedly turkeys little brother is not being treated like a family member or is pocketing the profits ...

One can accuse me of being cynical, but I suspect the latter.

last week.. Lidl Germany:
6 x 0,5 liter can Efes beer for 3,99 euro, incl 19%VAT.
in TRNC 48 lira each, a six pack therefore approx 8 euro
price hikes always come 3 days before end of month payday aso aso..
its profiteering, nothing else.

https://www.kibrispostasi.com/c35-KIBRI ... ler-azaldi

Needs translating but says fewer coming from the south to shop...more likely the inverse ..especially if efes is cheaper .. citing serious economic problem ..

They need price control
Stop corruption
Stop the salary rises which the economy can't sustain
Pretty soon there won't be any jobs .

Proof if proof were needed that its really starting to bite. Every Sunday I park in a small car park next to St Andrews church. When I get there I just manage to park or give key to money man who finds me a place. This last 5 weeks and in particular last two, there has been masses of spaces. THE REASON BEING THERE ARE NO CARS WITH CY REG. As the money man said, they used to come for cheaper food in supermarkets, meals over the weekend, drink, petrol etc. Now it is much cheaper in the South, why should they come here? Even the head of the Car Rental Union is complaining that Car Hire is down, PEOPLE ARE NOT COMING. Its just too expensive. A combination of GREED and incompetence.

When are circumstances like this going to register with that lot in Government.

Everything here is now way expensive, hairdressers, supermarkets, eating out, electric bills, we are off as quick as we can.

When it's too late...

Its never too late.

Reyntj wrote: ↑

Mon 12 Aug 2024 11:35 am

https://www.kibrispostasi.com/c35-KIBRI ... ler-azaldi

Needs translating but says fewer coming from the south to shop...more likely the inverse ..especially if efes is cheaper .. citing serious economic problem ..

They need price control
Stop corruption
Stop the salary rises which the economy can't sustain
Pretty soon there won't be any jobs .

the price hikes do not affect TRNC only, also in Türkiye prices went up a lot. hotel rooms, restaurants..prices, in euro, doubled.. or even more: Bodrum empty, Greece full.
TRNC is often seen as "part of TR"... but, it seems, even more expensive.
its not only the GCs who will not come... also NCs will go even more often south, other locals can not afford to visit local hotels and so on.
and... maybe the worse.. tourists may do not come any more.


in the link it is mentioned (at the end) that the cable electricity " can be" (olabilir) more expensive as the electricty pricing now.
ha, definitely it will be more expensive. at the moment southern Türkiye has no excess power to supply Cyprus as well. they need the (russian build) nuclear power station in Akkuyu to be completed. the guaranteed price "ex works" for one kWh is 12,35 us dollar cent, thats 4,2 lira. plus transformer and cable money + distribution in TRNC, admin / labour kibtek and... VAT.
so, 15.. or even 20 lira? what this will mean to the low users (say 250 or 500 kWh per month) ... well.... triple to quadruple...

https://www.kibrispostasi.com/c1-KIBRIS ... eye-akiyor

Another article again summarising the situation . Needs translating . As foreigners here we should be wary about criticising the country we stay in but in this situation I would say most of the locals also agree. The current situation doesn't look like it will end well.

Translated
Gülşah Sanver Manavoğlu, a businessperson and ninth-term Member of Parliament, whom I love very much, was also a guest of mine. We talked about the economy, the cost of living and electricity. It was a very good program. We talked at length about the shift of the economy, especially to Southern Cyprus. In fact, Dear Gülşah said, "Last year, the finance gave a surplus because there was a serious Greek flow to both markets and restaurants. At the time, I warned that this could be reversed. Prices have been increased, now the situation is reversed. Turks, not Greeks, are now going to the South and spending money."

An extremely important determination. Yes, the economy has shifted to the south, and the first reason for this is the merchants. We have increased, then the products have increased; Let the statistical agency keep the cost of living low. There is a very serious cost of living in the TRNC right now. Grocery stores are overpriced, restaurants are overpriced. I remember when we went to restaurants, at least half of the restaurants were Greek. Now it doesn't. Why? Because restaurant prices were exorbitant.

If you say markets, it just flew away. Gülşah said something very important; "You can't get together and rip off the citizens, you don't know about such a situation," he said. In any case, the profit share of the marketer varies between 10-25%, and the main boil is the wholesalers. We raised it, then they raised it, then they raised it, then they raised it, and that's how the prices were. Well, the Turkish Cypriots have no other choice and they have habits, they will come and buy from you, but the Greek Cypriots do not have to. They saw that the prices were piling up, everyone preferred to stay where they were.

The biggest danger is that Turkish Cypriots no longer prefer the markets in the north. Meat is cheap on the Greek side, chicken is cheap, vegetable prices are cheap. While the citizen goes and buys his meat and chicken, he also buys his other needs. What is happening is that the money is flowing into the Greek Cypriot economy instead of the markets in the north. Instead of collecting more taxes in your Ministry of Finance, it can collect lower taxes.

I will never forget that when the Minister of Finance Özdemir Berova came to me as a guest, he said that we may have to borrow money to pay salaries this month, and it happened as the Minister said: Finance borrowed and paid salaries. Similar situations will occur in the coming months. If I'm not mistaken, Finance Minister Berova talked about a budget deficit of 7.5 billion the other day.

At the end of September, four months of cost of living will be given. Civil servants' salaries will be increased, this is a serious burden on public finances, the government will give these increases. Maybe we are glad that salaries will be increased every four months, but this has not been good for the country's economy. The minimum wage will be redetermined, the burden of employers will increase, and there will be another situation that we call a vicious circle, salaries may increase, but life will also be expensive. This is officially a vicious circle, life will be expensive, salaries will increase, the prices of all food commodities will increase, and this vicious circle will continue. In fact, we are facing an extremely dangerous situation.

I have always written that the government needs to come up with remedies to prevent the cost of living, the markets need to be strictly controlled and supervised. Certain food products should be applied and prices should be cheapened. Otherwise, the citizen will not be able to cope with this expensive situation and will do all his shopping from the south. As such, the Southern Cyprus finances will be in the surplus instead of the TRNC finances. It's as simple as that.

The government needs to find a way to keep the money in the hands of the citizens in the North as soon as possible. The simplest example is that the need for meat should be met from the south and Southern Cyprus should not be a center of attraction so that the citizens do not shift to the south.