Ankara Chamber of Commerce (ATO) President Gürsel Baran said, "While fighting inflation, the real sector, production, investment, trade and exports should not be neglected."
The last Joint Assembly Meeting of the ATO 29th Term was held under the chairmanship of ATO Assembly President Mustafa Deryal, with the participation of the Assembly and Committee members. In his speech at the meeting, ATO Chairman Gürsel Baran evaluated the agenda of the economy and the real sector and gave information about the 47-month working period of the Chamber.
ACCESS TO FINANCE HAS BECOME DIFFICULT
Gürsel Baran reminded that they took office four years ago, at a time when the effects of the coronavirus pandemic were still ongoing, and said that the world and Turkish economy have gone through a significant transformation in the intervening time. Stating that in addition to the geopolitical developments following the pandemic, increases in energy and commodity prices and changes in global trade and supply chains have reshaped economic balances, Baran noted that these developments also affected the Turkish economy and the real sector. Baran stated that during the tight monetary policy implemented within the scope of the fight against inflation, it became difficult for the real sector to access finance, production and trade costs increased, and the capital needs of businesses increased, and emphasized that they saw the decline in inflation as an important gain.
Baran stated that they have come to the end of the 47-month Assembly period and said that they have been working intensively with the Professional Committees and Assembly members to solve the problems of the sectors for approximately four years. Stating that ATO professional committees have held 4 thousand 950 meetings and commissions have held 249 meetings since 2022, Baran noted that in these meetings, issues concerning the sectors were discussed and a total of 8 thousand 39 decisions were signed.
'PRODUCTION AND INVESTMENT SHOULD NOT BE NEGLECTED'
Drawing attention to the problems faced by businesses in terms of access to finance and working capital, Baran said, "As we have expressed at every opportunity and in every environment, the real sector, production, investment, trade and exports should not be neglected while fighting inflation. While approximately 90 percent of trade is done on credit, paying VAT in cash puts business balance sheets in trouble. The payment period of VAT calculated in forward sales is determined by taking into account the collection maturity of the commercial transaction and in transactions where the sales price has not yet been collected." "We recommend making an arrangement that will allow the VAT payment obligation to be postponed for 3 months or 6 months. We acted together and directly conveyed the problems of our sectors to the relevant institutions and organizations," he said.
Referring to the Committee and Assembly membership elections to be held on October 10, Baran wished that the elections would be beneficial for ATO and that the election process would be carried out with common sense, mutual respect, and with an understanding that prioritizes ATO's corporate reputation above all else.
