Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that fairs are where production, labor, and buyer meet, “No matter what job you do, you have to find customers and this is only possible with promotion and marketing. Fairs are one of the best ways to reach the right customer. That is why as TOBB, we attach great importance to domestic fairs.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that they are authorized by the Ministry of Commerce to grant fair permits in Turkey. “We disciplined the exhibition industry, set and implemented standards. We are now announcing next year's fair calendar before the start of the year. In the old days, fairs were announced with 10 days to go. The fair was held for the sake of it. Now, just like in the West, you can see which sector has fairs in Turkey a year ahead. Fairs have become more planned and scheduled for both participating companies and domestic and foreign visitors. Thanks to all this, our exhibition sector has developed rapidly throughout Turkey.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that before Covid-19, they hosted 62,000 companies and 26 million visitors with 482 fairs held throughout Turkey in 2019, and that these numbers decreased during the pandemic.

Talking about the exhibition goals, Hisarcıklıoğlu stated: “Our goal is to make our country and Diyarbakır the exhibition center of this region. In 2021, 11 fairs will be held in Diyarbakır, and I expect 1 million visitors in 2021. More than 100 stands at the Mesopotamian Agriculture and Livestock Fair, which will be held at the end of March, are already full. Moreover, 1/5 of the participating companies come from outside the region because they believe in the potential of Diyarbakır and know the importance of agriculture and livestock. With the pandemic of agriculture and livestock, it has become strategic all over the world and in our country. When viewed from Turkey, Diyarbakır is one of the main centers of agriculture and livestock. Global food prices around the world have reached their highest level since 2014. The increase in the world over the last year has been 30 percent. For this reason, we have to show and improve ourselves in this field.”

- Other speakers

Bendevi Palandöken, President of the Confederation of Tradesmen and Artisans of Turkey (TESK), said he was happy to be at the meeting, adding that “It is important that this venerable city is 'blue' and opens this season with 11 fairs while many cities of Turkey are still going back and forth in the 'red' and 'orange' colors due to the pandemic.”

TOBB Turkey Fairs Council President Cihat Alagöz stated that they will come out much stronger with 11 fairs this year despite the difficult pandemic process.

DTSO President Mehmet Kaya stated that due to the Covid-19 pandemic which started in China and affected the whole world in a short time, fairs in Diyarbakır, as well as all over the world, had to stop as of March 2020. “As DTSO, we have followed the developments in the world very closely by proactively managing this process in the exhibition sector. We prepared ourselves for the new era and established a fair company by studying what kind of transformation will happen in our country. For 2021, we have prepared 11 fairs. We will first hold our Agriculture and Livestock Fair between March 30 and April 3 with the participation of 103 companies. Diyarbakır being an agricultural province, we will carry out the Agriculture and Livestock Fair, which will be held between March 30 and April 3.”

Thanking the participants for coming to Diyarbakır, Engin Yeşil, Diyarbakır Commodity Exchange Board of Directors President, said, “We are going through a very difficult period. We've lost loved ones. We longed for each other in the process. Hopefully this process will be over and we'll catch up. I would like to thank our dear President Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu for being with us on our difficult days as well as good ones.”

- Women and Young Entrepreneurs

TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu also met and spoke with the members of TOBB Diyarbakır Women and Young Entrepreneurs Councils.