At the food consultation meeting of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO), which also hosted the Bread, Flour and Bakery Products and Baklava, Pastry and Confectionery Professional Committees, 560 bakeries operating without a license in Istanbul were requested to be closed.

At the food consultation meeting held by the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, the need for intermediate staff came to the fore. Food industry representatives expressed that they had to reduce production lines because they could not find workers within the production phase and sought for solutions at the consultation meeting. ITO President Şekib Avdagiç, ITO Board Treasurer Ahmet Özer and ITO Assembly Members from many professional groups attended the food consultation meeting. The sector representatives claimed that the capacities determined for the bakeries reduce the profitability of the companies, and added: “There are approximately 4 thousand licensed bakeries in Istanbul and 2 thousand 500 bread quotas for each. We need to explain that the price will not decrease by opening more bakery shops. If we limit the quota to 5 thousand, we can increase profitability. In addition, 560 unlicensed bakeries in our sector must be closed immediately to prevent unfair competition.” Representatives of the food sector stated that they were affected by the irregular course of food costs as well as the need for intermediate staff. Sector representatives explained that the cost increase in food products started to take place even daily and continued as follows: “We cannot immediately reflect this increase to consumers or companies. In order to prevent the imbalance in the increase, a price increase systematic must be established.”