The Turkish Cypriot Public Servants’ Union (KTAMS) calculated the poverty line for a family of four at 256,567 TL as of August 31. The announcement also indicated that the hunger threshold is set at 47,568 TL.
KTAMS President Güven Bengihan stated in a written notice that the calculations were based on data obtained from the Health Ministry’s Department of Hospital Treatment Institutions and average prices from the Statistics Institution. Based on this data, the necessary food expenses for a healthy living were detailed.
Among the necessary expenses for healthy nutrition, an adult woman’s daily food expenditure was calculated at 418.96 TL, totaling 12,569 TL monthly. For an adult man, the daily amount is determined to be 428.66 TL and 12,860 TL monthly.
A child aged between 13 and 18 years has a mandatory daily food cost of 433.76 TL, amounting to 13,013 TL monthly. For children aged 8 to 12, this amount is set at 304.20 TL daily and 9,126 TL monthly.
When all these expenses are combined, the total monthly mandatory food cost for a family of four reaches 47,568 TL. However, it should be noted that other expenses are also taken into account when calculating the poverty line, not just food expenses.
According to KTAMS, the overall monthly expenses that need to be made include transportation costs of 40,460 TL, housing, water, electricity, and other fuels costing 37,484 TL, among others. Entertainment and cultural expenses are also estimated at 26,657 TL.
Güven Bengihan questioned the validity of the calculated figures so far, stating that the consumer price index from 2015 has lost its relevance. Bengihan emphasized the importance of the Statistics Institution’s work on updating the index and criticized the government’s economic policy, adding that poverty is deepening and increasing.
Source: www.diyaloggazetesi.com
