Sustainable economy ‘a must’ for TRNC

A SUSTAINABLE economy is “essential” to protect consumers from price hikes and boost their income, leading industry figures have said.

Cyprus Turkish Chamber of Industry leader Ali Kamacıoğlu said that the people of North Cyprus are living “day to day” and that a sustainable economy is needed for the reduction of successive price increases.

“We are doomed to be crushed under the price hikes unless we improve our economy,” he said. “We wake up to a new agenda every morning; one morning we wake up with a fuel price hike and another morning to the announcement that they are making products cheaper in the markets.”

Emphasising that it is “impossible” to have an economy “with such high taxes”, Mr Kamacıoğlu added that new local government laws will mean that “all types of products will be more expensive and production costs will increase even more”.

Cyprus Turkish Businessmen’s Association board chairman Enver Mamülcü said that the latest fuel price increases meant that pump prices in the TRNC have exceeded those in Turkey “for the first time in the country’s history”.

Mr Mamülcü said that other reasons for the increases in prices in shops are the “skewed tax policy”, the increase in the minimum wage, “high inputs” and a “monopoly on logistics”.

He added that some businesses have had to close their doors because of the rising cost of rents which are set in foreign currency.

Cyprus Turkish Chamber of Shopkeepers and Artisans general coordinator Hürrem Tulga said: “We need to produce in order to reduce prices. Production should be supported and we should start manufacturing new products.”

Pointing to the “exorbitant prices of fuel, market products, fruit and vegetables”, Mr Tulga emphasised that the “increase in fuel prices and the decrease in purchasing power are pressing issues”.

Mr Tulga noted in particular that “for the first time the price of lettuce increased to 15TL”.

Underlining that another reason for “expensiveness” is the depreciation of the Turkish lira, Mr Tulga continued: “Prices are increasing because inputs in our country are in foreign currency. . . the supply chain increases prices. By the time the product goes from the producer to the consumer its price increases significantly.”

Mr Tulga also pointed out that the increase in fuel pump prices has a greater effect on people in the TRNC than it does on those living in Turkey.

“The difference between our country and Turkey is that everyone here uses their own car and consumes more fuel because of the lack of public transport,” he explained.

“Moreover, this hike was made because the budget has run out [to subsidise fuel prices] and will cause the prices [of other goods] to increase again.”