Kozan Market Vendors Face Haggling Over Prices Amidst High Costs

In the bustling district market of Kozan, Adana, a watermelon vendor named Mustafa Avcı has adopted a unique approach to sales. He meticulously classifies his watermelons, dedicating a portion to be given away free to the poor and needy. Avcı explained that he categorizes his produce for different groups: the impoverished, retirees, minimum wage earners, civil servants, and the wealthy. "We offer and give to our poor, our needy," Avcı stated, emphasizing that those without money can take a watermelon. He added that retirees and minimum wage earners are encouraged to take fruit home for their families.

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We offer and give to our poor, our needy. We also give to those who have no money, and they take it under their arm. We have classified them section by section, and the prices are normal. To the minimum wage earner, we say, 'You don't have money. Come, take it for God's sake.' To the retiree, we say, 'This pension money isn't enough for you, take these, take them home and eat with your children,' and we give them too.

However, the market also reveals widespread economic hardship. Another vendor, Adem Yılmaz, selling corn, described customers haggling fiercely over prices as low as 5 Turkish lira. He noted that people often bargain down from the listed price, sometimes offering half or less. Yılmaz lamented that while corn might cost farmers mere kurus or one lira in the field, the market price reflects significant challenges. He also mentioned that even basic produce like oranges, which they couldn't sell wholesale for 3 lira, are now priced much higher for consumers.

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People bargain for 5 lira corn, saying 'I'll give 2 lira, I'll give 3 lira,' and we say, 'No.' Some leave their bags and go. It continues like this. What we sell for 5 lira here is one lira or 50 kurus in the field. The farmer is always ruined.

Reflecting the strain on consumers, an elderly vendor, Yaşar Sarıboğa, who receives an old-age pension, shared his own struggles. He comes to the market to make ends meet with his small allowance. "A single egg costs 7 lira, and people say it's expensive, they bargain for 5 lira, and I don't sell it," he said. He also noted customers wanting to buy 10 kilos of oranges for 20 lira, a price he sometimes accepts and sometimes refuses.

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A single egg costs 7 lira, and people say it's expensive, they bargain for 5 lira, and I don't sell it. Oranges are currently 25 lira. 'If you give them for 20 lira, I'll buy 10 kilos,' they say. I give to some, and I don't give to others.

Retiree Mehmet Akıldı expressed the difficulty of affording basic necessities. He reported buying a kilo of eggplant for 50 lira and two kilos of tomatoes, but stated that dairy products like cheese and milk, and even eggs, are out of reach. "We can't eat cheese, milk, eggs; where can I eat them?" he questioned, recalling only eating such items when his grandmother had a goat in the village years ago.

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We can't eat cheese, milk, eggs; where can I eat them? The last time I remember eating them was when my grandmother had a goat in the village and they made butter, not at any other time.