Do Oil Prices Have an Effects on Food Prices? Fresh Evidences from Türkiye

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between oil prices and food prices for January 2003-September 2022 in Türkiye. Design/methodology/approach – Variable associations were examined using the RALS cointegration test. The RALS-ADL cointegration test uses information in non-dispersed errors. Thus, it produces more powerful predictions for non-normal distributions compared to cointegration tests. In addition, this test avoids widespread practices such as predetermining a particular functional form. Findings – The results show that the series have a cointegration connection. The DOLS, FMOLS, and Canonic cointegration approaches produced long-term coefficients in agreement with the discovery of a long-term association. Although the results of the applied tests were comparable, the results of the FMOLS and Canonik tests are substantially more comparable. Given that FMOLS technique is more effective than others and produces outcomes comparable to those of Canonik approach, its results have been interpreted in this situation. As a result, while having a positive sign, the exchange rate variable is not statistically significant. In terms of food prices, oil prices have a negative explanatory power. The CPI variable has a considerable impacts on both the present and future pricing of food. Our findings demonstrate that the price of oil does not always correlate with the price of food, and vice versa. Discussion – There are certain recommendations that can be made to researchers and policymakers based on the findings. Supporting contract farming, which has recently been mentioned, will improve food sufficiency and the balance of food stocks, particularly during times of crisis. On the demand side, the preference for locally produced foods can reduce the over-reliance on food imports, which frequently worsens the country's status with regard to food prices and may lower the dryness. From this vantage point, future research can contrast oil-exporting nations and oil-importing countries in terms of the food price-oil price connection, whereas the current study focuses on the relationships between oil prices and food prices in Türkiye.