ATB President Ali Çandır: “The number of geographically marked products of Antalya has increased to 18 with the Antalya potato fry.”

In the August meeting of the Antalya Commodity Exchange (ATB), ATB President Ali Çandır stated that the number of registered geographical indication products in Antalya has increased to 18 with the certification of Antalya topak kızartması by the Kumluca Municipality. Çandır expressed his gratitude to the municipality for protecting our local dish by obtaining geographical indication certification. “I wish it to be beneficial for our Antalya,” he said.

The ATB August Council Meeting was held in the ATB Council Hall under the chairmanship of Council President Erdoğan Ekinci. During the meeting, where members were informed about the management’s one-month activities, ATB Board Chairman Ali Çandır made statements regarding agriculture, the economy, and the city.

“The amount of bounced checks in Antalya has tripled”
Çandır noted that there have been significant increases in bounced checks and protested notes since January 2023, and pointed out that in the first half of 2024, the amount of bounced checks increased by 247% in the country and by 385% in Antalya. Çandır stated, “The rate of bounced checks in Antalya has risen from the long-term average of 0.5% to 1.5%, which is an increase of nearly three times. The volume of transactions with checks in Antalya remained below the national average during the January-July period. While the volume of transactions with checks increased by 63% in Antalya, this increase was 81% nationwide. Considering the 62% inflation in July, trade with checks has shown almost zero growth in our city,” he said.

The number of closed companies in Antalya has increased
Çandır mentioned that the trends in company establishment and closure also portray a negative picture, indicating that while the number of established companies decreased by 15% in the country during the January-July period, the number of companies established in Antalya fell by 30. He noted that the number of closed companies increased by 28% nationwide, while in Antalya it increased by 51%.

The least credit is used in the tourism sector
Highlighting the difficulties in accessing finance, Çandır said, “In terms of access to finance, the annual credit growth rate from July to July is 50% both in our country and in our city. However, when considering the 62% consumer inflation, real credit growth has not been achieved. Sectoral credit usage has increased by 37% in the trade sector and by 33% in the agriculture sector. However, tourism sector credits have shown a 29% increase, remaining at low levels.”

“This situation is unsustainable”
President Çandır expressed that economic indicators show that the Antalya economy is negatively diverging from the Turkish economy, stating, “While the national economy grew by 4.5% between 2018-2022, Antalya managed to grow by 8.6%. The fact that Antalya has been below the national average for the past two years can be explained by many reasons. However, the most important reason is the exchange rate-inflation gap. This gap has more than doubled recently. Antalya, being one of the most open cities to the outside world, faces high cost increases while exchange rate increases remain limited, and it struggles to produce and trade with shrinking demand. This situation is unsustainable. Our decision-makers must urgently update their inflation assessments and assumptions. Thus, attention will be more focused on cost increases,” he said.

“If we have no alternatives, we will withdraw from the sector”
Stating that agriculture is a sector characterized by long production periods and short consumption periods, Çandır explained that once a production decision is made, it cannot be changed if conditions change. “Other sectors are more flexible in this regard and quickly adapt to changing conditions. In agriculture, however, you must immediately harvest and evaluate the product when the harvest time comes. Frequent changes in conditions or increasing instability directly and violently affect the agricultural sector. This situation is similar worldwide, but its impact is much more destructive in our country. Therefore, we urgently need effectively functioning market conditions,” he said.

Çandır noted that prices in agriculture cannot be determined according to costs, but are completely dependent on market conditions, stating that when a price occurs below costs, activities continue either through equity or credit opportunities. “If we cannot achieve these, we have to withdraw from agriculture. The losses and withdrawals experienced in the sector in recent years stem from this reason. Agricultural activities are not just a job for us, but also a way of life and a tradition. To remain in the sector, we must resist until the end. If we have no alternatives, we will have to withdraw from the sector in a bankrupt way. This trend must be urgently reversed for our sector,” he expressed.

“Inflation-accounted temporary taxation will put agriculture in difficulty”
Reminding that inflation-accounted temporary taxations will be made at the end of August, Çandır emphasized that instead of these temporary practices unsuitable for legislation and economic structure, they demand the application of inflation accounting at the annual level. Çandır stated, “The agricultural sector generally has a capital-deficient structure. For this reason, debt ratios are relatively high. Stocks are procured at the beginning of the season, while products are accumulated at the end of the season. Therefore, the stock structure does not distribute over months as in other sectors. Our fixed assets are weighted with land, vehicles, and machinery. While depreciation applied to these assets is limited, at least a 19.5% value increase for the first 6 months will significantly choke our sector, already in a difficult situation. Fictitious value increases, which do not have economic reality, will show businesses in loss as profitable and will impose a tax burden on actual losses. This situation is not unique to our sector; it is general and widespread. It will lead many businesses in our sector to face the risk of closure. It will impose impossible burdens on loss-making businesses or those facing a tax burden much higher than their operational volume,” he said.

YÖREX starts, increasing the value of local products
President Çandır stated that as the Antalya Commodity Exchange, they have been supporting rural development with their Regional Products Project and YÖREX Fair for 16 years and introducing local and geographically indicated products. He said, “By providing job opportunities for small producers and cooperatives, we preserve agricultural diversity and contribute to local economies. The success of YÖREX has been possible with the valuable support of our union, development agencies, local and national institutions. Thanks to the support provided, the promotion of products in rural areas has increased, cultural tourism has been promoted, and the commercial values of products have risen. This year, at the 13th YÖREX, which we will hold from October 9-13, we invite producers, traders, and relevant institutions with the slogan ‘What is Famous in Your Region?’. We will gather our 81 provinces in an area of 10,000 square meters to showcase our local products and increase their commercial values. I would like to thank our President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey, Mr. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, and our community, our Minister of Industry and Technology, Mr. Mehmet Fatih Kacır, and our development agencies, and all stakeholders for their support for YÖREX. We will continue our efforts to protect our local products and increase their value without slowing down,” he stated.

Topak kızartması has received geographical indication
Çandır noted that with the certification of Antalya Topak Kızartması by Kumluca Municipality, the number of geographical indication products in Antalya has reached 18. He said, “I thank the municipality for protecting our local dish by obtaining geographical indication certification. I wish it to be beneficial for our Antalya.”
Members evaluated their sectors during the council meeting.