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  Orhan Yıldırımçakar, 36 yılını tekstil sektörüne verdi

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  TÜRK TEKSTİL VAKFI 2003 YILI FAALİYETLER

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  DEĞİŞİKLİK FESHİNDE KÖTÜNİYET (Karar İncelemesi)

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  Summaries in English

Summaries in English

Halit Narin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of our Trade Union, who stressed the flaws in inward processing regime:
"Turkey sells Chinese goods but does not manufacture"

Halit Narin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of our Trade Union said that Turkey has become a country that cannot manufacture goods in textile sector but sells goods from China. Talking in an interview published on 12 February in Dunya Newspaper, Narin noted that re-exports made with Chinese goods prevented investments in Turkey and complained that domestic market will be conquered by China in the future unless measures are taken.
Narin, who criticized the failure in the announcement of the amount of Turkish goods within the export figures, said: "Did the increase in export figures increase production, investment, or the employment? The proportion of Turkish and Chinese goods in the increased exports should be clearly stated." Narin, who stressed that only exportation of goods produced in Turkey would develop the country, said that it was deceptive that goods imported from Far East under inward processing regime without taxation should be counted within exportation figures.
A new organization is necessary
Narin, who underlined that a new mentality is necessary for Turkey which will put imports under control and seriously promote exports in 2004, further pointed out that VAT rate should be cut down and inward processing regime should be licensed only in the demanded amount of goods. Narin reminded that unrecorded economy reached 60 per cent and misused exportation was at the root of that.
Narin asked for disciplining of the customs and said that documents should be given and followed up more strictly. Narin, who wanted that Ministry of Finance should follow around those who import goods under inward processing regime, reminded thus the gaps in revenue sources could be filled.
Turkish goods should be given incentives
Narin, who stressed that the packaging of imported goods were upgraded in order to avoid giving incentives to investors, and creating sources, said:
"Nobody gives statements about investment of a textile factory in Konya producing goods from cotton. The improvement of Little to Medium Size Enterprises and investments in Anatolia is a very nice philosophy. But behind this, it must lie the logic to export to the whole world. Neither Exim-Bank nor the customs are accordingly organized. Exim-Bank resources should promote the goods made by Turkish industrialists, manufacturers from Turkish cotton."
We sell Chinese goods
Narin, who stated that the stipulations brought about by inward processing regime on goods imported from Far East were disturbed by those who make Turkish citizens suffer, said: If no price controls take place at customs offices, and imports go on like this, how will new management areas be established? Will we only re-export goods from China to Europe or America? clothing is imported at the price of cotton now. It is very hard to find goods other than Chinese goods. Everyone in the market has Chinese goods. Turkey has become a country that cannot manufacture goods. In the following years China will totally control the Turkish market."
"Europe exports fabrics here thanks to Customs Union. However, Europe does not manufacture fabrics. Europe simply changes documents and re-exports goods from China to Turkey thanks to free trade. But, Turkey cannot send goods to Europe. Officials who know that there is no control over these incoming goods should also know that Turkey is not entitled to export these goods to US or Europe.
Officials should in a breakdown list the monthly exports as Turkish goods and imported goods for re-export. Objectives should be decided accordingly, because the figures and statements related to exportation do not express the amount produced by Turkish industry."
Import regime should be disciplined
Narin concluded: "We should clearly define the free zones too. Free zone implies that the goods manufactured there should go abroad without entering domestic circulation. The goods that come there are counted and exported in the same amount. But do the free zones work like this in Turkey? There are free zones everywhere. There is no bookkeeping showing the amount of incoming and outgoing goods and their point of destination.

Halit Narin's bringing into discussion the per capita income was broadcast on TV and radio programs.
Narin: Turkey is not a country of 3,000 dollars per capita income.

Halit Narin's bringing into discussion the per capita income determined the agenda of the previous month. All the TV and radio programs asked this question to Narin, who declared that per capita income was represented with a figure lesser than it should be.

"All say Turkey is poor"
Halit Narin, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of our trade union drew attention to the fact that everybody considered Turkey as a poor country in his speech in the radio program "Economy Agenda", broadcasted on TRT Ankara Radio on 15 January and stated that the statistical figures were an important matter for discussion. "We heard your public explanations. We also would like that per capita income should be higher in Turkey. So, what is per capita income in Turkey? How should it be calculated?" asked Sevtap Yasa, radio program commentator. Upon which Halit Narin said: "What matters for us is to take the picture of economy in Turkey. I mean, to try to tell if it is right or wrong that everybody in Turkey has a bad economic view. Everybody tells "You are a poor country" to Turkey. Because the statistical values of Turkey are always taken up as a subject and discussed during comparisons worldwide. It means that the statistical values of Turkey are a more important subject for discussion than our president's or prime minister's speech, because they interest public opinion throughout the year. The main basis for calculation of gross national product in Turkey is production. Turkey has the biggest production. Frankly, today Turkish entrepreneurs do more investment than Germans. Each Turkish citizen should be proud of it. The power and enthusiasm of Turkish entrepreneurs to develop the country with the principles of Ataturk do not exist in many European countries. The Statistics Institute of such a country relies 99% on the data from 1986. However, Turkish economy has overcome many crises since 1986 and was many times restructured. And we open discussions with these data in 2004 when 1986 is history for the world. This is where the main error is. Yet our situation is much better.

Narin, who added that the calculations they made were not just idle talk, said they were based on calculations by academicians who they sent to England. Narin resumed: "This committee makes in site inspections on the calculations made by Belgium and compares them with ours. Thus we see how per capita income is calculated by these countries. Upon the first report by the committee we saw that our per capita income seem to be about 9-11 thousand dollars due to the size of unrecorded economy.

Turkish and American textile players unite against China

The most important corporations of Turkish and American textile and clothing sectors decided to act together against the Chinese threat after 2005 when quotas will be abolished. In this framework, Istanbul Textile and Ready Made Garment Exporter Associations (ITKIB) and American Textile Manufacturers Institute (ATMI) and American Manufacturers Trade Acts Coalition (AMTAC) will write a letter to World Trade Organization (WTO) requesting that the quotas applied to China survive after 2005.

Inflation gets down, likewise dollar price...
How about costs?

Scarcely a day passes without announcement of positive figures in economy. Inflation gets down, interest rates draw back. 2003 was a similar scene. Turkish Lira strengthened in 2003, and it was a downward year for the Dollar. USD lost a value of 16.73% against TL.

In the same period Euro increased 2.17% in value against TL. The inflation rate was realized as 13.9% in terms of wholesale price index and 18.4% in terms of customer price index. But the reflection of these inflection figures is not yet seen either in textile and ready made clothing sector, or in the man on the street, on the market. It is said that this will happen soon.

The country has gone through two crises. These were tangibly felt in 2000 and 2001 by textile and ready made sector. But the launched stability program and one party power that took over government and related improvements in the economic indicators gave positive signals. Now there is an inflation rate which was realized under the targeted figure of 20%, and an exportation figure that approach 48 billion dollars with and increase of 32.4%.

So, do these figures denote that things really go well in economy? Or is this an imaginary picture. In other words, has there been or will there be a positive effect of the decrease in inflation to the textile and ready made sector? Textile sector has a laconic answer: "Nothing reflects on costs yet."

The representatives of the sector make a laconic suggestion, too: "To provide stable inflation exports should thrive, but investments and production should be supported by lowering input costs to world level."

According to the representatives of the sector heavy taxation, energy and employment costs make textile and ready made companies vulnerable in the face of their rivals.

Representatives of the sector who try to expand into markets abroad to overcome stagnation in the domestic market think that the rate of increase in foreign exchange rate should be the equivalent of interest rate applicable in the country. However, it is not possible to say that these three instruments increase or decrease with the same percentage. Therefore, the sector cannot foresee future during calculation of costs.

Bulent Pirler, General Secretary, Confederation of Turkish Employer Syndicates:
Turkey should determine its national competitiveness policy"

Pirler said that progress by Turkey is dependent on national competitiveness policy to be determined. Pirler, who noted that Turkey could come 52nd among 105 countries for competitiveness in 2003 according to World Economic Forum (WEF) data, said: "The main path towards a solid economy passes from increased competitiveness." Pirler made the following evaluation for Turkish Textile Employer's As-socation Magazine:

The level of competitiveness of Turkish economy continuously drops down.
The economic stagnation and crises of consequent nature in Turkey had a bad effect on the production and employment capacity and competitiveness of the real sector. Turkey only managed to come 52nd among 105 countries for competitiveness in 2003 according to World Economic Forum (WEF) data.

The competitiveness of open economies depends largely on cost differences. The real sector in our country tries to produce and export in a medium where the burden of social security and taxation, energy costs are more than their rivals.
The tax burden in Turkey is more than rich countries like the USA and Japan. According to OECD data Turkey is the country which increased taxation the most between 1985-2001 among OECD countries. The proportion of tax to the gross product increased from 15.4% in 1985 to 35.8% in 2001.

Our country is on top of the list among 30 OECD countries in terms of employment taxes. It is seen that average labor cost is reserved by 42% to employment taxes (taxes collected from wages and social security premiums). This rate is an average 24% within OECD, 17.6% in the USA, and 9% in Ireland.

The speed of increase in labor cost is an important determiner of competitiveness. The employee's share in social security premiums is 15% and employer's share is 22.5-30% (including unemployment benefit) in our country and very high. The rate of development of competitiveness in economies defines the future conditions of the societies.

In order to develop a social dialogue and a methodology for our economy; a "National Competittve-ness Policy" should be determined and applied. All the legislative and other measures to be taken in our country should observe the objective to develop national, sectoral and company-based competitiveness.

International clothing buyers meet in Istanbul Fashion Show

International clothing buyers came together at Istanbul International Fashion Show held between 11-14 February. The show which was held in CNR Ex-po had approx. 150 Turkish participants from clothing and fashion sector, and had 120 Russian and 200 Greek visitors. Purchasing committees negotiated with participating Turkish companies in presc-heduled appointments in a program, realized for the first time in Turkey by CNR International Exhibition Center. While millions of dollars of business deals will are made during the negotiations, it was understood that only the invited Russian companies had a total annual commercial capacity of one billion dollars.