Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

The ceremony for awards to successful persons and entities in various financial and economic fields by the Antalya Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ATSO) was held at the ATSO Atatürk Conference Hall.

In his speech, TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu, touching on the matter of dishonored checks and changes made to the legislation in this regard, said, “The capacity of prisons wasn’t enough to incarcerate the number of people who were sentenced for charges regarding dishonored checks. Banks have access to all information on me.  How much credit I’ve been granted, do I have dishonored checks, do I pay my gas bill… They see everything. We want to know the past record of our customers who wish to purchase goods on credit. Hopefully by the end of this year we will be able to gauge our risk.”

Thanking the Customs and Commerce Minister, Hayati Yazıcı, for his attendance at the award ceremony, Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed out the Minister’s contributions to the modernization of customs gates, work conducted on the Turkish Trade Law and the Debts Law.

Hisarcıklıoğlu, reminded that the Greek Prime Minister had stated that Minister Yazıcı was overly modest, referring to the modernized customs gate saying, “Your gate is western while ours is eastern.”

TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that the savings gained by the business world as a result of the modernization of the customs gates is 410 million TL. Hisarcıklıoğlu said that this money is gained due to the reduction in wait times at customs. Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that everyone, including the government, had benefited as a result of this project.

- The works of the chambers should be known

Touching on the facilitations brought on by the changes to the Turkish Trade Law, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Everyone is complaining that chambers do nothing but collect membership fees. My 365 chambers and exchanges conducted extensive work. I was told of the problems. They requested I relay those to the government. I took the file to the Prime Minister. In the end, the changes were made. With these changes, our chambers have saved 6 billion TL for the private sector. A burden of 6 billion TL has been lifted from our backs. If the law had gone into effect we all would have a great risk of going into prison. Eighteen instances of prison sentences have been removed. If you store sign had fallen down at night that would have been a fine of 73,000 TL. Those who write up these laws don’t know how that 73,000 can be earned. They have no idea how large a sum that is. If you can’t pay, it’s a 730 day prison sentence. This is no joke; this was exactly how it used to be. Many thanks to the Minister, our government and the Grand National Assembly. We have issues with the Debts Law. We are working on that as well. Another issue we are working on is that of checks.”

- The riches of Antalya

Talking about the riches of Antalya and the projects which have been undertaken, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “It is said that there is grace and prosperity in unity; anguish in dissent. This is how Antalya works. The Antalya Agriculture Council has been established. The Zeytinpark project and the Regional and Traditional Goods Fair were conducted by them. Antalya TSO, Antalya TB, Alanya and Manavgat TSOs are all 5 star chambers. They provide the same quality as any you would find in Europe.”

Stating that the average employment of women in Turkey is 26%, while it is 32% in Antalya, Hisarcıklıoğlu congratulated the Antalya Women and Young Entrepreneurs Councils for their hard work.

- 11 million tourists is not enough

Praising Antalya’s tourism potential, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “You are living in heaven on earth. Our only wish is that you prosper even more. Never say enough. The richer you get, the richer we get. Allah has granted you everything. There is a great potential here. You can earn even more. You shouldn’t slack off just because 11 million tourists visit Antalya. You need to diversify destinations and make innovations. Just so you know, 11 million isn’t Antalya’s full potential.

I’d like to congratulate Antalya for EXPO. If we can achieve this, Antalya will draw in an additional 5 million tourists. You produce 20% of Turkey’s vegetables. If Netherlands makes 5 billion USD from while Antalya only makes 36 million USD from cut flowers, there is something wrong going on.

Both you and Turkey have a lot to do. Antalya is one of our biggest industry cities. This is because it has a sea port. The infrastructure of that sea port needs to be prepared with thought to the future.

I am hopeful for the future of my country. The late Özal knew us better than we know ourselves. May heaven be his abode. Nobody believed him when he said 10 million tourists. Right now, Turkey pulls in 32 million tourists. We are among the 6 top tourism destinations of the world. Compared to the 5 star hotels in Italy, our 5 stars would rate at 7 stars.

Tourism is Turkey’s number one sector. It pulls in 32 million tourists. At the end of the year Turkey will have an income of 30 billion USD.

We will put Turkey in the top 10 economies. All that I ask is that we compete on equal terms with our competitors.”

- Condemning the Van school arsoninsts

On the subject of the arson of the school built by TOBB in Van, TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “I vehemently condemn those who would set a school on fire, who would deny our children an education. Even more, I condemn those who defend these savages,” and went on to state that they will contribute to education.

- Customs and Commerce Minister Hayati Yazıcı

In his speech, Customs and Commerce Minister Hayati Yazıcı said, “When you take note of the economic developments of the world, of course our growth rate is not where we would like it to be; but it is where we foresaw it would be. These are not coincidental results.”

Speaking at the ceremony, Customs and Commerce Minister Hayati Yazıcı said that Antalya is one of Turkey’s most important cities and that it yields positive results with its tourism potential and agricultural richness.

Minister Yazıcı also provided information regarding work underway regarding customs gates and the constitution.

- Antalya Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Çetin Osman Budak

Antalya Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ATSO) President Çetin Osman Budak thanked the Customs and Commerce Minister Hayati Yazıcı and TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu for attending the meeting and said, “We wish for President Hisarcıklıoğlu’s continued success; he’s raised the bar for the Turkish private sector in both national and international avenues.”
​