28.01.2025 Bursa

The President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB), M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, met with the Council Members at the Bursa Chamber of Commerce and Industry January Ordinary Council Meeting.

At the meeting, Hisarcıklıoğlu said that Bursa, which is the production center of Türkiye in automotive, machinery and textile, is rapidly progressing towards becoming the production center of high-tech sectors.

Referring to the developments in the economy, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Tightening in monetary and credit policies is being implemented to combat high inflation. Credit volume is shrinking and interest rates are kept high. This leads to a contraction in the domestic market. With the flow of goods and cash, economic growth is slowing down.”

Stating that the slowdown in world markets negatively reflected on the real appreciation of the Turkish lira and exports, Hisarcıklıoğlu said: “We have to adapt to this new environment. We need to focus on controlling costs and working more efficiently. On the other hand, there are positive developments in the macro economy. We should not ignore these in order to keep our morale high for the future. Inflation has entered a downward trend. This paves the way for interest rates to fall in the coming period. The current account deficit, the country's foreign exchange deficit, has fallen compared to half of last year. Exchange rate volatility has decreased and the Turkish lira has stabilized. Domestic foreign exchange flows have come to an end and dollarization has decreased. While our CDS risk premium has fallen, our sovereign credit rating continues to rise. Inflation has started to decline, albeit to a limited extent.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that there are many problems in the market and that they constantly follow them and convey them to the relevant places and said, “In the last 3 months, we met with our Vice President, the Ministers of Finance, Trade, Labor and Social Security, Energy and Natural Resources, Interior, Agriculture and Forestry and the President of the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye. We told them about your complaints, demands and suggestions.”

Emphasizing that they talked about the difficulties experienced by SMEs in accessing finance in their meetings, Hisarcıklıoğlu continued his words as follows: “We said that this spread to the whole economy with a chain effect. ‘SMEs should be excluded from the restrictions on the increase in commercial loans. Again, commercial credit cards should not be subject to restrictions.’ At this point, I will also have good news for you. The Credit Guarantee Fund is working on a new loan package for our members. After receiving the necessary approvals, hopefully it will be made available to you as soon as possible. Apart from these, we explained the competition problems in labor-intensive sectors, especially in textiles and ready-to-wear clothing. We asked for the introduction of short-time working allowance for these sectors. The appreciation of the Turkish lira negatively affects export prices. This reduces our competitiveness in foreign markets. We need to find new supports for our exporting companies.”

- “Mandatory employment practices should be reviewed”

Stating that the financial and legislative burdens on employment continue, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “The strictness in the legislation makes employment difficult and almost punishes it. We have the strictest employment legislation in the world. Mandatory employment practices should definitely be reviewed.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed out that the problems of exorbitant prices and stockpiling continue, that a clear definition must be brought to these, and that the entire business world should not be left under suspicion.

Explaining that the concordat is for the benefit of the real sector, Hisarcıklıoğlu continued as follows: “85 percent of the companies that use it are getting back on their feet, but there are also problems with the payment of commercial debts in this process. There is a need for steps to reduce this, such as excluding them from the scope. Finally, we also have a growing visa problem. We are constantly explaining how this has a negative impact on our exports and investments and we demand a solution to this issue. Let us know that we can overcome every problem with common sense and dialog.”

Stating that they will carry Türkiye forward together, Hisarcıklıoğlu added that they will keep hope alive by believing in the power of the nation and that they will continue to work without pessimism.

İbrahim Burkay, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the BTSO, also made a speech at the meeting attended by Governor Erol Ayyıldız.

(A.A.)