Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) President Mustafa Gültepe made evaluations to Bloomberg HT regarding September export figures. While Gültepe stated that September export figures were above expectations, he pointed out that despite the increase in value, there was only a 0.2 percent increase in quantity.
While Gültepe stated that every increase over 10 percent in exports is positive for them, he pointed out that the increase was in certain sectors and said that there was an increase in the chemical industry due to the increase in some items of the electrical and electronics sector and the prices of raw materials and chemical products. Gültepe stated that the increase in the jewelry sector due to cyclical effects in the last 2 months has also been positively reflected in the figures. Gültepe emphasized that it is important for exports to increase above imports in September.
“War-related demand does not spread to the base”
When we look at the effects of the demand from the Far East to Turkey after the war in the Middle East, the increase, which was 3.1 percent on an annual basis in the 1st Quarter, increased to 10 percent in the 2nd Quarter, when the war started; It increased by 8.6 percent in the 3rd Quarter. Stating that the demand for Turkey has not spread to the base, TİM President Gültepe said, "There is demand due to the war, but when we look at the average of 27 sectors, there is an increase in 15 of them, 9-10 sectors write negative. It is necessary to look carefully at the breakdown of plus and minus. While there is a continuous decrease in some sectors, there is an increase of over 100 percent in some sectors due to the demand due to the conjuncture. There is no spread to the base. Why are the industrialists having trouble while there is an increase in exports? Here is a "There is a problem. These increases do not cover all sectors. While exports increase, I foresee a parallel trend in the last quarter."
TİM President Gültepe said that increasing the growth limit in SME loans to 5 percent is positive, but interest rates have been above 40 percent for 3 years.
“It is not right to withdraw the existing support”
Gültepe criticized the CBRT's new system regarding foreign exchange conversion support, which came into force on October 1, and said that it was far from meeting his expectations. In the new system based on added value in foreign exchange conversion support; The annual foreign exchange sales limit of companies can be up to the added value calculated by adding the annual operating profit and 12-month labor costs. Gültepe said, "The sectors have not been making operating profits in the last 3 years. There is a mistake here. Especially the sectors that need to be supported will benefit less from this, they will benefit by 1/3. This needs to change."
"Before the new system in foreign exchange conversion support was put into practice, it was necessary to hold consultation meetings with those who use this support. It should have been carefully considered why we requested this. Why was the foreign exchange conversion support given? Because the exchange rate was too suppressed. We want it to be increased to 8 percent because the gap between inflation and exchange rate is half. If inputs increase by 50 percent, foreign exchange increases by 25 percent. We do not have the chance to tolerate this. No technological development can cover this. While our expectation is that it should be increased further, the sectors that need to be supported are from here." "This needs to change, there is no moral motivation left. It was not a right move to withdraw the existing support. It is right to spread it to the ceiling, but I hope the mistake made will be reversed in the coming period."
