Food Prices in Turkey in the Eve of Ramadan

In the eve of Ramadan, luxury restaurants and hotels have launched campaigns to attract fast-breakers. The prices are not cheap, still one can find affordable options

Restaurants have not raised the costs of iftar dinners this year, a professional says.With only days left until the holy month of Ramadan, restaurants and hotels are preparing their own special dishes for the occasion at prices ranging from the affordable to the lavish, all making their contribution to what amounts to a billion-dollar industry.

Many venues promise live classical Turkish music, ambient scenes and other bits of authentic pleasures, alongside traditional Ottoman and Turkish tastes.

“[Restaurants] are charging the same prices as [they did] three to four years ago. We encourage our members to keep [their] prices reasonable, so that everyone may come and eat,” said Ramazan Bingöl, the president of the All Restaurants, Diners and Suppliers Association, or TÜRES.

Eating out during the month of Ramadan in Istanbul creates an industry worth around $1 billion, though that number would be even higher if five-star hotels were also to be included, he added.

Luxury hotels in Istanbul charge between 45 and 185 Turkish Liras for their iftar fast-breaking menus, while prominent restaurants charge between 55 and 120 liras, though it is also possible to find more affordable menus worth 20 liras, according to Anatolia news agency.

The Tuğra Restaurant at the Çırağan Palace Kempinski Hotel, a former Ottoman palace, is offering an exuberant menu at a price of 185 liras between 7 p.m. and 12 a.m. throughout the entire month of Ramadan. The Four Seasons Bosphorus features an open buffet worth 150 liras, while Swissotel The Bosphorus is charging 135 liras for its own buffet.

Tuti Restaurant inside The Marmara Taksim Hotel also features an open-kitchen concept whereby visitors will be able to watch as their food is being prepared. Tuti Restaurant will be presenting both traditional Turkish foods as well as contemporary international dishes at a price of 75 liras.

Göksu Marine Restaurant will be serving its customers inside a boat with live classical Turkish music included at a much friendlier price of 35 liras.

The Marmarion Teras Restaurant inside the Antik Hotel is also offering three menus specially designed for Ramadan before an impressive view of the Marmara Sea, the Princes’ Islands, Beyazıt Tower and Sultanahmet Mosque. The “Sultan Menu,” “Beyazıt Menu” and the “Dynastic Menu” each cost 45 liras, while visitors can also expect to hear the soothing sounds of the “ney,” a classical Turkish wind instrument as they enjoy the scenery.

Meat prices during Ramadan

Contrary to expectations, red meat prices will actually fall during the month of Ramadan, according to an official from Turkey’s Red Meat Producers Union, Şaban Çetizli, who said there were 1,120,000 calves ready to be processed in Turkey. Meat production was adequate, but consumption was scarce in Turkey, Çetizli said. As there was not a big enough demand for red meat, prices were not yet settled, he said.

Big producers were working toward the extinction of smaller, village-based producers, Çetizli said, adding that there was no need to import meat in Turkey. “No one can say there were not enough animals in Turkey,” he said.

Harvest season coincides with Ramadan

As it is the season of harvest, no price increases are expected for seasonal fruit and vegetables. Sector officials said the usual price increases during the first half of Ramadan would not occur this year because the harvest had already begun. There was no way that the produce would be kept at the fields, experts said, adding that if it were another season, then it would have been possible to keep the produce in stock for speculative purposes.

Just as in the case of fresh vegetables and fruits, dried legumes will also maintain the same prices during Ramadan, said the deputy president of the İzmir Trade Bourse, Ercan Korkmaz.

Chickpeas and beans will provide an exception, however, as there was “a 35 to 40 percent decrease in production due to excessive rain and disease that will reflect in a 10 to 12 percent increase in prices.”

There was no activity in the legumes sector, which could mean that those fasting might opt for watermelon and melon this year, he said. Rice prices, on the other hand, have already decreased by 10 percent due to surplus production.

Meanwhile, the recent increase in foreign exchange rates had an effect on vegetable oils. The 6 to 7 percent increase in exchange rates altered prices by an average of 5 percent, one marketing manager said.

July 27, 2011
SOURCE: HURRIYET DAILY NEWS