Inflation due to Turkish lira depreciation causes doubling in price of some medicines

The unprecedented depreciation of the Turkish lira against foreign currency has caused the prices of European pharmaceuticals to double in the TRNC.

Consumers have complained about the price rises, however, President of the Pharmacists’ Association Umut Öksüz, pointed out that the main reason for this is the exchange rate. Öksüz added that problems obtaining supplies of pharmaceuticals during the pandemic also added to price increases..

Öksüz said the following:

Some consumers, who purchase a corticosteroid drug, which is usually used by asthma or COPD patients, in a very short time, saw three price increases. A consumer who said that he had bought the drug Cortair (0,5mg-2ml) for 44.50 TL, 65.35 TL and 88.79 TL, respectively stated that the price had almost doubled.

In addition, a frequently used thyroid drug was 9.84 TL in February, while this drug exceeded 17 TL in September. Calcium supplements used frequently by the consumer increased from 87 TL to 116 TL.

Stating that the last price rise in pharmaceuticals was in February, Öksüz explained that there has been no increase in drug prices since then. 

He said that the price increase in pharmaceuticals is only for the drugs of European origin and that foreign currency exchange is the main factor in this increase.

Stating that there has been no price stability in European-origin medicines for years, Öksüz said, 

Many items are affected, including the warehouses that bring these drugs from abroad, the country they import from, and the exchange rates. Some warehouses store medicines purchased in Euros from Germany, others when purchased from the UK in Sterling, so prices vary.

Yeniduzen, LGC New