Soaring world energy costs are piling pressure on Turkey's state energy importer BOTAS to further hike prices as it falls deeper into the red, even as manufacturers complain that recent price rises threaten their operations.
The pipeline operator and trading company needed a 100 billion lira ($6.8 billion) payment from the Treasury last year to cover its shortfall and losses have accelerated since Russia's invasion of Ukraine drove energy prices higher, officials say.
That poses several challenges to authorities in Turkey, which imports nearly all its energy needs. BOTAS has bought billions of dollars from the Central Bank to cover its purchases, eroding the bank's already low foreign reserves, while Treasury payments to BOTAS widen the budget deficit.
