Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

“I am pleased to be with you in Kumluca, with its storied stone and golden sands,” said TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu and went on, “The heart of everyone here beats for Kumluca. How can it not? God has given us such a land of which over 80% is suitable for of fruit and vegetable production. This is the capital of vegetables. On the other hand, you are growing citrus and cereals. Looking at tourism; Adrasan is here, Olimpos is here. The center of boutique tourism is Kaş. We have all these riches in Kumluca and we have the Chamber and Exchange which represent our business world in the best way. Our Kumluca Chamber and Exchange are always on the move for the development and development of Kumluca; I personally have witnessed this. I work with brother Murat on the TOBB Tourism Board and brother Fatih on the TOBB Agricultural Board. Both of our presidents represent you there.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu reminded that both the Chamber and the Exchange in Kumluca were accredited and that they offer 5-star service to their members.

Hisarcıklıoğlu emphasized that the issue everyone is curious about these days and speaks about is the state of the markets, “There has been turmoil in the economy for some time now. We are going through difficult times as the Turkish business world. As TOBB, we monitor the pulse of the market first hand through our Chambers and Commodity Exchanges and note the problems one by one. Then we forward all this to our government and demand immediate action. We met with the General Managers of all banks in Istanbul. Again in the last week, we held a meeting with our General Manager of Halkbank in Antalya with the participation of our Chamber-Exchange Presidents and members of our councils. We emphasized that the finance sector and the business world are on the same ship. We spoke about the problems you experienced in banks one by one. Last week, we met with the Ministers of Treasury and Finance, Industry, Trade and Labor at TOBB. Two days ago, we came together with the Minister of Agriculture, Forest and Trade. We also stressed the importance of taking the views of the private sector regarding market law, which is on the agenda of our two ministers.

In all of our meetings, we forwarded all our requests and solution proposals to our Ministers in detail. We have especially emphasized this to each of our Minister. This is a time for preservation. We need to maintain the capacity of trade, production and employment of our producers, traders and industrialists. Every factory that shuts down, each factory that stops its production, is the loss of wealth for the 81 million.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that they are struggling with a myriad of issues ranging from interest rates, exchange rates, taxes and different bureaucratic legislation encountered every day and said, “While there are a thousand kinds of difficulties, our only request is that the government shows that they stand with us and not leave us alone in this economic struggle.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed out that they started to get concrete outputs in these works, which conveyed the demands coming from the chambers, and said, “Yesterday, there were two important developments for our economy. It was announced yesterday that tax deductions will be made for sectors such as automotive, home appliances, furniture and housing. When the public-private sector works together, when consultation and common reason are dominant, there is nothing we cannot achieve. Let us not alienate one another.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu said that he has never been pessimistic for the process they were going through, and that they’ve overcome dozens of crises and turbulences in the last 25 years, internal and external.

“We will not fail to overcome this hill either,” Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “All we need to do is keep our spirits up and come together. We will bring our country to the place it deserves as the Turkish private sector. We want Turkey to enter the world's largest 10 economies.”

- Kumluca CCI President

In his speech, Kumluca Chamber of Commerce and Industry Board of Directors President Murat Hüdavendigar Günay said that they have left behind a very intensive 5 years since they came to office in 2013 and then renewed the trust with the great support of their members again in the elections held last April.

Stating that in the meantime, they have fulfilled promises Kumluca, Finike, Demre and Kaş districts on behalf of the Kumluca Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Günay said, “We have implemented many projects for the social and economic development of the region and continue to work on new ones. We are working with all our might together with all stakeholders in order to increase the power of the shining star of agriculture and tourism sectors of Turkey, Antalya.”

Günay stated that Kumluca CCI draws its power from the region's 5000 members which comprise the dynamics of the region and that the building that they will open today symbolizes that power.

Providing information about their work since assuming office, Günay reported that relations with the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges Turkey have been elevated to the highest level, including integration into the Accredited Chamber System.

Günay thanked TOBB President Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu and added, “They work day and night with great sensitivity to every issue we convey. I want to convey my gratitude on behalf of our region and its business community. Thank you.”