Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

TOBB President Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that trade wars and protectionism are spreading around the world and that the economy is facing difficult times.

Pointing out that global growth and trade have lost their former momentum and that the country’s economy has been negatively affected by these developments, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We are not discouraged, nor are we giving up the fight. As the business world, we are determined to produce, provide employment, and export under all circumstances. We want to see our state by our side, as it is today. Because we know that if the private sector is strong, Türkiye will be strong.”

- “We must provide affirmative action for SMEs”

Hisarcıklıoğlu emphasized that SMEs face difficulties in accessing credit, stating that restrictions on credit growth and high interest rates have disrupted payments and reduced transactions in the markets.

Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed out that all these problems are slowing down economic growth, saying, “To overcome these difficulties, we must provide affirmative action for SMEs. We must keep them outside the monthly credit growth limit. We must take steps to increase the volume of SME credit in real terms. The businesses we call SMEs account for three-quarters of employment, half of total private sector sales volume, and 40 percent of exports. Therefore, every positive step taken here will breathe life into the entire economy in a chain reaction.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu emphasized the need to increase support for exports and stated that we are facing a new global environment.

Pointing out that when the US raised its customs tariffs, many Far Eastern countries, especially China, began to send their remaining goods to other markets because they could no longer sell to America as before, Hisarcıklıoğlu stressed that Chinese competition in traditional markets has become even more intense than before, and therefore new and proactive support measures must be introduced for exports.

Stating that priority should be given to labor-intensive sectors, Hisarcıklıoğlu said that additional support should be provided to sectors such as textiles, ready-to-wear clothing, leather, and furniture.

- “There will be reductions in credit interest rates.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu reminded that the Turkish economy has grown continuously for 21 quarters, stating, “While the country’s national income exceeded $1.5 trillion, we reached $270 billion in annual exports. Both are records in the history of the Republic. The increase in machinery and equipment investments indicates that strong hopes for the future continue. Türkiye’s risk premium has also fallen to its lowest level in the last seven years. We also saw a picture that increased our hopes in the latest inflation figures announced. I hope that there will be reductions in both the Central Bank’s policy rate and, in parallel, in credit interest rates.”

Emphasizing that developments in agricultural production have reached an alarming level, Hisarcıklıoğlu noted:

“On the one hand, there is climate change, drought, and water shortages; on the other hand, there is the decline in the rural population and, of course, increases in production and logistics costs. All of these mean food inflation, high cost of living, and high input costs in industry and exports. We must seek solutions in these areas and discuss how we can make agriculture attractive again. We must prioritize water efficiency in agriculture and industry and reorganize our agricultural production patterns accordingly.”