We held the 6th “Consultation Meeting with Members” on May 24, 2019.
In the meeting, which started with the intense participation and interest of our members, our Chairman of the Board of Directors, Ziver KAHRAMAN made a speech.
An African proverb says our dear guests, “As the water rises, the fish eat ants, and as the water draws, ants eat the fish“. Nobody should rely on today’s superiority of power … Because the flow of water decides who eats whom. ” From this proverb, we are living in a circle of fire in a geography where the human being eats the human and turned into a witch cauldron. Right next to us, Arab countries that have been reshaped with blood, war and tears, and economic threats and crises that never fade from our heads…
Turkey is a powerful country and is located in every sense of the potential of this power. It promises future and hopes with its fertile Anatolian soil, young and bold population, with every historical experience. Our young population and brave entrepreneurial spirit come from the right of all kinds of chaotic environments. The sign of power is the economy. If you are economically strong, you are strong in all other areas. Economic power is the only weapon that destroys the generalization of the African proverb, eliminating the fate of the fish and ants. If you are growing and developing economically, you will neither be an ant nor fish waiting for water to rise and withdraw. You are the wave itself. You determine the fate of the events.
If we want to grow, develop and strengthen, we have to create more entrepreneurs, our esteemed guests. More entrepreneurs mean more accumulation of capital. That means more factories. More factories mean production, employment and prosperity. That is why the structural barriers to our entrepreneurs must be eliminated. Entrepreneurship ecosystem should be transparent, understandable, profitable and fair. Here, we strive to serve in this basic perception and approach, dear participants. Our policy is economy, our direction is growth and development, and our goal is capital accumulation.
We held our local elections on March 31, 2019. We went to the ballot box and demonstrated our preference democratically. That process is complete. Now the country’s agenda should get rid of politics and election and quickly return to its real agenda, the agenda of the economy. Economic life never loves emptiness. The world is a huge market dominated by brutal competition. We should never let our place in that market cool down. When we remember our stock exchange signed works in the past year, we will embody our sensitivity to our entrepreneurs and economic parameters, our valuable members, our esteemed guests.
The most important production, trade and export item for our city is hazelnut. We have never been in a blunder like an alternative to hazelnuts. On the contrary, we thought that we should produce more, produce more quality, sell more, and we produced projects. We completed our project on “Investigation of Modern and Traditional Methods in Hazelnut Production” supported by EU funds in September 2018. The project, in which our governor’s office, our university, Altınordu Chamber of Agriculture, TUSCIA University in Italy, and the research institute IRTA in Spain, was implemented for 2 years. Good practices in Italy and Spain were seen and a 5-acre model hazelnut garden was allocated within Ordu University as project output. Our model garden, which is formed on sloping land, terracing method and single branch basis, is within the Republic Campus of our university. Again, within the scope of this project, a book written in 4 languages that include the experiences and scientific findings and data obtained during the project is also a thing of the past.
We have not been idle about licensed warehousing in the hazelnut industry for many years. As you know, licensed warehousing is a huge investment. Before realizing these fixed investments, expressed in millions of dollars, accurate feasibility studies are required. Based on this need, we discussed the subject within the scope of “DOKA Feasibility Support Program” with our project named “Ordu Mercantile Exchange Licensed Warehousing Services”. This feasibility report prepared by us in an investment in licensed warehousing will lead the way. While defining the stock market, it is said that “It is a disciplined market where many buyers and many sellers come together.” As a requirement of the contemporary stock market understanding, we created a “Hot Sale Hall” within our stock exchange. We furnished your furnishing. We have determined the basic procedures and rules regarding the sales hall. Market practices are slow. The sitting of the customs, full acceptance depends on time. Hazelnut sector is dynamic and variable like other sectors. This change process will attract our producers, traders and industrialists to the sales hall. We invest in the future of the industry, in areas that will eliminate structural problems. Our Project Office, which we have established within our Exchange, is also institutionalized as the “Foreign Trade Intelligence Unit and Advisory Desk”. We are preparing to add strength to our economic life with this unit, which will provide free services to all entrepreneurs in our city, especially our valued members, with foreign trade potential. We are at the point where we can provide consultancy services in every conceivable matter about foreign trade.
I have mentioned the importance of entrepreneurship, our esteemed guests. The main problem for existing and new entrepreneurs is access to finance. Based on this basic problem, we signed “Breath Loan” protocols with banks by guaranteeing the resources that we use cautiously and economically. We did not create any bureaucratic process for our members who applied for breath credit. The “Activity Document” created by us was delivered to the relevant banks in person. Each of our members was visited one by one, and they were informed about the process and they were able to benefit from these low-interest loans. We have seen that 75% of our members benefit from breathing loans and the total loan volume is approximately 52 million TL. From now on, we will continue to take positions on the basis of our resources and to the easy access of our members to finance until the legislation permits. We take utmost care to use our resources effectively and efficiently. We care about the technological infrastructure and carefully invest in this area. 113 Commodity Exchange in Turkey with the general directives of the Ministry of Commerce we are connected to the “Digital Transformation Project” is being restructured in the technological sense. The applications that differ among the Commodity Exchanges are now disappearing. Details on the subject have been explained to each of you individually and detailed information will be continued in the coming period. All our efforts are to eliminate the burdens of our precious members without burdening bureaucracy, waste of resources, and our valuable members.
Turkey Launched in general “Employment Mobilization” We conducted awareness of the scope of work we carried out together with you personally and employment in our province, we entered into the collective wisdom quest for ways to contribute, albeit at particle prosperity. The Agriculture and Rural Development Support Institution evaluates all the topics opened on IPARD, UR-GE Projects, and we write projects on the titles we see for the benefit of our city, especially our members, and we provide free consultancy service to our members who want to write projects in this headline.
We have conducted a workshop on “Brown Skunk”, which has recently been a serious threat in hazelnut production, with representatives of the leading institutions and organizations in the industry, and as a result of this workshop, it was agreed to launch a total awareness and struggle program against this pest hazard for the entire region. In the upcoming period, our studies will continue increasingly on the rapidly spreading insect pests, especially brown skunk.
I would also like to talk about our successful lobbying activities, which we have done with the phrase “Ingenuity is subject to compliment”. As you may know, in 2008, an obligation was made to pay the cost of the goods we received from the producer. In a macroeconomic sense, this is for tackling the informal economy, but there is no informality as it is pointed out in our sector. This practice was not suitable for our commercial tradition for years and it was very challenging for us. Our lobbying activities have yielded results and the obligation to pay the amount we paid to the preparation has been removed from the bank.
Another successful lobbying activity was the 3-day difference between the time of making a concise declaration and the withholding period. After the statement made on the 23rd of the month, the payment was made on the 26th. We did not find this 3-day difference meaningful and explained the confusion that it caused especially in stock exchange transactions and increased the declaration and payment dates to the same day. Applications of this type are “Simplification”. And all kinds of simplification will strengthen our hand and make our trade easier. We have never been a tool to the “Price-Based Polemics” in hazelnut. We regarded all parties in the industry as stakeholders and made the dialogue essential. We never had time to lose with polemics. We believed in the power of the free market and we will continue to believe. The state makes intervention purchases as a requirement of the social state phenomenon. We are obliged to find ways to use resources effectively and economically. In hazelnut, besides quality and efficiency, there are also high-cost issues. Average operating size is below optimal, efficiency is low and costs are very high. Thus, it is normal that the price to be formed in the free market does not satisfy our producers. Hazelnut is an export product and its main price is determined in international markets. Unfortunately, it is not possible for the price in the international markets to increase at the same rate depending on the high cost. We have to increase our efficiency and reduce our costs. The market price will not be satisfied without gaining the ability to produce large and high-quality products and sell them to wider markets.
As a requirement of the understanding of the social state and due to the form of agricultural earning, state supports for producers are important and must continue. “Area-Based Income Support”, which is implemented today, is not in direct production, but in the form of support for the manufacturer and the person. In addition, supports that will have a direct impact on production, quality and efficiency should also be implemented, and therefore quality should be supported and encouraged. Concepts such as Agricultural Management and Contracted Agriculture have begun to enter our lives. We have to adapt quickly to the changes imposed by the process and take immediate action for disruptions. Resisting against the wind of change or not taking action on time means losing more after a while. We attach great importance to sensitivity, to take part in all kinds of activities related to hazelnuts, to participate in projects and to produce projects. We also attended the “National Hazelnut Workshop” held in Ordu last month and presented our opinions and suggestions at the desks. There is no doubt that each of the opinions and suggestions we presented to those tables were consulted with you beforehand.
Although Hazelnut is our most important production and trade pattern, we do not have the luxury of ignoring economic realities and rules, dear guests. We have to follow, understand and know the economic rules. When we hear only the “Hazelnut” title, opening our perceptions and staying closed will bring economic myopia.
Our precious guests.
Economic life sets economic rules and nothing is a coincidence. Economic rules create and influence each other.
In economies with a capital shortage, interest rates rise. High-interest rate annuity economy, stop production and increase consumption. The only way to prevent interest rates from rising is to increase capital accumulation. In other words, to invest, to open a factory, to produce. If the price of goods and services increases uncontrollably in an economy, it should be seen that the main problem there is due to production. The withdrawal from the production process and the decrease in the amount of production will result in the rent, the demand exceeding the supply. Imports are an economic reality and must. However, imports must have a basic appeal that it is much cheaper than domestic production. Otherwise, it will addiction. Prices become one of the instruments, causing the general level to rise uncontrollably. The way to prevent prices from rising uncontrollably is investment and production.
People and societies cannot consume more than their income. If it consumes, economic rules come into play and depression begins. It is against universal economic rules to see debt as financing of consumption. That is why directing the debt, whether it be individuals, businesses or government, to investment, not to the production process, but to consumption brings economic destruction. Capital is fluid. Wherever he sees profitable, he goes there. Foreign capital inflow to a country means investment. It means financing for investment. Therefore, interest rate increases based on rent should not be kept together with interest rate increases to regulate capital flow. Capital accumulation and investment mean employment. Increasing employment will also reduce the burden of the state due to the perception of the social state. The growth of government spending in a social state approach is also a serious economic problem. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the welfare share indexed to production.
We live in difficult geography and in a tough economic world on a global scale. In this environment, we try to produce, accumulate and develop and develop. Of course, there will be difficulties. We will overcome all the difficulties that are foreseen and unpredictable with unity and solidarity. When you take a handful of sand and knock it against the glass with all your strength, it will have no effect on the glass. But when you put a handful of sand in a cloth and tie it tightly and throw it on the glass, the glass will break. Even if we have a handful of sand, it is ingenuity to come together, hug them tightly and become a hard stone.
While ending my words here, I would like to admit acceptance of your fast, I wish you healthy lives, abundant and prosperous profits.
Goodbye, be entrusted to God. ”
