Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Hisarcıklıoğlu said that although the world has transformed technologically and digitally, the agriculture and livestock sector is an industry that will never lose its importance.

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that it is necessary to consume to live, and it is the agriculture and livestock sector that will meet this demand. “‎The world population is 8 billion; the middle class in the world is growing more and more every day. ‎And as it grows, the more it consumes. On the other hand, the agriculture and livestock sector is most affected by natural disasters and economic risks. We saw that during the pandemic. We've seen the importance of being a self-sufficient country. That's why what you do is highly strategic. Never neglect it.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu stressed that the prices of agriculture and livestock have increased even more than energy prices all over the world.

Noting that costs have increased significantly recently, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We are talking to our relevant ministers to take measures on these issues. As TOBB, we have taken important steps for the development of agricultural markets in our country and we continue to do so. We have implemented TMO-TOBB LIDAŞ in order to store agricultural products safely. Thus, by taking the first step in our country, we have increased the licensed warehouse investments of our exchanges and the private sector. Thanks to the licensed warehouse, in addition to security storage, we facilitated the access of manufacturers to finance and made it easy for the industrialist to access the raw material. On top of the system that forms the basis of the licensed warehouse, we established TÜRİB – Product Specialized Exchange. In this way, we have enabled the realization of the commodity exchange of agricultural and livestock products. Now we ensure that the prices of the products we produce are determined in our country.”

Stating that Gaziantep Commodity Exchange is among the partners of TÜRİB, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Gaziantep Commodity Exchange is one of the exemplary exchanges of our country. They work with the vision of being the capital of industry in agriculture. Our stock exchange works tirelessly for Gaziantep agriculture and livestock with its projects and services. As an accredited exchange, it already offers 5-star service to its members. It serves both peanut producers and consumers with its peanut licensed warehouse.” 

Hisarcıklıoğlu stressed that Gaziantep is now an important gastronomy city, and that one of the 2 foundation legs is baklava and the other is kebab.

Stating that Gaziantep is the leading province in geomarkers, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Our Exchange has registered 15 of Gaziantep's 73 registered products. Our exchange has 9 other products that are in the application process.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that Turkey has had many difficult periods in the last 30 years. “However we overcame them all. It's not for business people to be pessimistic. The pessimistic can neither produce nor trade. As the Turkish business community, we have the experience and dynamism to overcome these crises. As long as we trust ourselves, as long as we don't marginalize each other. We will get through these difficult times by joining hands with the public-private sector.”

- “We chased dreams tirelessly”

GTB Chairman Mehmet Akıncı stated that the new administrative service building is on the Silk Road, which is an important stop and route connecting the city to neighboring provinces. “‎Our new administrative service building constitutes only one of the works and projects that we have brought to our city in recent years.‎ We will hopefully soon have the first Pistachio Pilot Scale Processing center in Turkey right next to our Pistachio Licensed Warehouse, which we opened this year. Especially considering our completed projects such as Meat Exchange, Licensed Warehouse, New Service Building, these investments were projects that encountered very difficult periods. These were just dreams for us in the early days, but we pursued our dreams tirelessly. We have always calculated how to bring them to our city and country economy. For the last 4-5 years, we have run from construction to construction. Fortunately, we are all receiving the fruits of all the efforts and sweat we have put in today.”

- “We are proud to have won two valuable projects”

GTB Council Speaker Ahmet Tiryakioğlu said Gaziantep is a city that likes to work, produce and add value to its production. Tiryakioğlu stated that this spirit is a legacy of the heroic ancestor who wrote the saga of liberation 100 years ago. “‎We are the 5^th most exporting city in Turkey. ‎ We've already given fair warning to the front-runners in fourth place. Hopefully, we will close 2021 with exporting 10 billion dollars. In line with these principles, we are proud to bring our two valuable projects to life with the limited opportunities of our commodity exchange, which will contribute to our city and our nation, meet the needs of our sectors, and meet the needs of our sectors.”

After the opening ceremony, the 'Stars of the Commodity Exchange' award ceremony was held. TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu presented the success plaques to the 20 companies that registered the most in the trade registration transactions carried out in 2020 on the commodity exchange