Antalya Chamber of Commerce Demands Priority for Agriculture in OVP
· Dünya Gazetesi
Antalya Chamber of Commerce Chairman Ali Çandır stated that agriculture should be defined as a strategic sector in the Medium-Term Program to be announced in September, and producers should be protected against rising costs.
Demand for Strategic Role for Agriculture in OVP
The August Assembly of the Antalya Chamber of Commerce was held under the chairmanship of Erdoğan Ekinci. Speaking at the meeting, Antalya Chamber of Commerce Chairman Ali Çandır requested that the agricultural sector be addressed as a strategic area within the scope of the new Medium-Term Program to be announced in September. Çandır stated that producers are struggling with the costs of fertilizer, energy, fuel, and labor, while industrialists and traders are battling high financing costs and exchange rate pressures.
Expectation of Support for Producers and Industrialists
Emphasizing that the program should include steps to keep producers in the field and industrialists in exports, Antalya Chamber of Commerce Chairman Ali Çandır conveyed his demands with the following words:
"The new Medium-Term Program to be announced in September is of great importance to our business world in this regard. We expect agriculture to be addressed as a strategic sector in the new OVP. Our producers are facing high fertilizer, energy, fuel, and labor costs. Our traders and industrialists are struggling with high financing costs and exchange rate pressures. Therefore, the OVP needs to present a framework that will keep producers in production, traders in trade, and industrialists in production and exports. To achieve this, support must be aligned with costs and predictable, access to finance must be affordable and long-term, an exchange rate and credit policy must be established to protect the competitive power of production and exports, and a predictable economic environment that encourages investment must be provided. Only in this way can we protect our production, strengthen our trade, increase our exports, and sustain our employment."
Agriculture's Significant Share in Antalya's Exports
Explaining foreign trade indicators, Antalya Chamber of Commerce Chairman Ali Çandır evaluated the city's export structure with the following words:
"These figures reveal that our city shows significant performance in terms of foreign trade. In the first seven months, agriculture's share in total exports was 15% in Turkey and 59% in Antalya. Industry's share was 82% in Turkey and 26% in Antalya; mining's share was 3% in Turkey and approximately 12% in Antalya. While industry drives Turkey's exports, agriculture drives Antalya's exports."