Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB) head Rıfat Hisarcıklıoğlu on Sunday chaired a meeting of 12 industry chambers belonging to the TOBB to discuss ways of reviving and normalizing the economies of 11 provinces hit by the Feb. 6 earthquakes in Türkiye’s southeast.
The meeting, which was hosted by Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ISO) head Erdal Bahçıvan, lasted five hours and resulted in a consensus on implementing five projects to boost the economy and employment in the affected areas.
According to a written statement from the TOBB, the meeting was productive and led to the identification of five projects that could help revitalize the region.
Supplying from quake area
One of the projects involves companies sourcing supplies for their businesses from the earthquake-affected area.
"We urge large-scale companies to source raw materials and semi-finished products from businesses located in the earthquake-affected region," the statement read.
"Our aim is to help revive trade in the area by connecting producers in the region with potential buyers using the TOBB industry database. We plan to inform chambers and commodity exchanges in all provinces as well as the 65 sector council members to encourage participation from business circles across the country," the statement added.
National food retailers
Efforts are also underway to encourage national food retailers to purchase agricultural and food products, as well as raw materials from producers in the earthquake-affected region, with the support of chambers, commodity exchanges and sector assemblies.
The ongoing studies in this regard will be expedited to help revive the local economy.
E-commerce
The TOBB e-Commerce Sector Assembly has initiated a commission-free sales practice for products delivered to consumers from companies located in the earthquake-affected region.
This practice is set to be expanded to all companies in the sector to support local producers.
Cargo companies will also work toward reducing sales and cargo costs for online sales originating in the region.
Technical support
A technical support mobilization will be initiated through chambers and commodity exchanges and with contributions of members to revive employment and economic activity and enable damaged production facilities to start operating again.
Additional income
It has also been considered that it would be beneficial to return income tax and insurance premiums deducted from employees throughout 2023 to employees in order to assist in employment recovery in the earthquake-affected area.
"Thus, the said deductions will be reflected for employees as additional income," the statement noted.
Two powerful earthquakes, hours apart on Feb. 6, caused unprecedented destruction in both Türkiye and Syria and left more than 50,000 people dead, including more than 45,000 in Türkiye.
According to the Turkish government, more than 200,000 buildings were destroyed by the quakes.
Türkiye’s manufacturing activity expanded slightly in February as the devastating earthquakes impacted the sector, with some firms suspending production, resulting in a slowdown in output and orders, a business survey highlighted earlier.
The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for manufacturing stood at 50.1 last month, unchanged from January, staying above the 50-point line that separates expansion from contraction, the Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ISO) and S&P Global said.
The panel said that supplier lead times lengthened to the greatest extent in 10 months as the earthquakes caused difficulties in sourcing and delivering components.