Border town a hope for investors
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Selma Şimşek Bektaş - Referans
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 20, 2009 00:00
KEMALPAŞA, Artvin - Istanbul’s Laleli district was once famous for its buzzing shuttle trade, but now traders are flocking to Kemalpaşa, a small town on the Georgian border. Losing their hopes in traditional markets, Turkish entrepreneurs from various cities sell their goods to Georgians in this little town, whose daily trading volume sometimes reaches half a million dollars
As the global crisis shakes the Turkish economy, investors are rushing to Kemalpaşa, a small town at Turkey’s Georgian border. In the past four months, trade has boomed in the town, reaching a daily volume of half a million dollars.
Investors, particularly from textile sector in various cities, including Denizli, Uşak and Bursa, regard the eastern Black Sea town as a haven amid the crisis. Some prefer the town to survive the adverse conditions, while others act with the "early bird catches the worm" mentality.
Shopping almost never ceases in Kemalpaşa, which does not feel the cold winds of the crisis. Some days, shopping continues until morning, and every good is in demand. Customers come from Georgia, which is located just next to the town.
The shuttle trade launched one-and-a-half years ago by customers that came for vacation purposes has boomed in the past four months, creating a daily volume of $500,000. The town, which had just a few stores a year ago, has now turned into a giant trade center with 340 stores. Investments to open more are ongoing. Around 5,000 Georgians visit the city in an ordinary day, but as the district bazaar has started Ğ upon demand Ğ to offer services two days a week, the figure has reached 10,000 people.
A savior amid crisis
"A friend of mine mentioned Kemalpaşa, and I did some research. The union of chambers renewed the Sarp border gate. Even Koç [Holding] is said to have an investment plan. This has inspired confidence for me. I met with the Hopa Chamber of Industry," said Haydar Salıcı, who came to the town a month ago from Uşak, an inner-Aegean city. "I had 15 workers in Uşak, and I decided to come to Kemalpaşa in order not to leave them jobless," he added.
Salıcı, who markets not only household textiles but also plastic household products, expects that the business volume will grow in the upcoming period.
Ali Şimşek, who arrived from the Aegean city of Denizli, has a similar story. Şimşek used to supply wholesale goods to this small town, but demand has increased in recent months, he said. Upon hearing about the booming border trade, he said he wanted to "market our own products ourselves rather than supplying wholesale goods."
Operating with cash is a great advantage, Şimşek said.
"The trade here has substantially relieved Denizli. The number of goods sold has increased and many people living in Denizli arrived here, enabling cash flow."
Muhammet Pekdemir and his partner, Mustafa Elkaş, who are Malatya-based jean manufacturers, are also among those who were aggrieved by the crisis but found relief in the small town.
Elkaş said their production under the "Ordinal Jeans" brand almost came to a halt. "My partner had 25 workers. The crisis has almost halted the business, and our inventories rose. Kemalpaşa became the solution for us."
He noted that the business was better a few months ago. "Now, the number of stores is rising and the pie is getting sliced more."
"Neither an institution nor any other person had a role in the emergence of this trade. All have developed spontaneously," said Engin Koyuncu, chairman of the Hopa Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
"Here lies great trade potential. At present, only Georgian customers at the Batumi and Tbilisi line arrive, constituting a trade volume of $2 billion annually. If that trade is expanded to other countries, such as Turkmenistan and Armenia, the region’s annual turnover may reach $5 billion to $6 billion," said Koyuncu.
"Both Georgian and the Autonomuous Republic of Adjara have a warm prospect for bilateral trade,"Koyuncu said. "Each Turkish product entering without a visa provides jobs and food for Georgians."
A visa-free pass implementation signed between Georgia and Turkey two years ago has contributed to the development of the trade between the two countries. Tax is not imposed on Turkish goods, another factor that helps trade. Georgian customers located half an hour away from Batumi pay visits for the day to find products unavailable in their countries.
Investors, particularly from textile sector in various cities, including Denizli, Uşak and Bursa, regard the eastern Black Sea town as a haven amid the crisis. Some prefer the town to survive the adverse conditions, while others act with the "early bird catches the worm" mentality.
Shopping almost never ceases in Kemalpaşa, which does not feel the cold winds of the crisis. Some days, shopping continues until morning, and every good is in demand. Customers come from Georgia, which is located just next to the town.
The shuttle trade launched one-and-a-half years ago by customers that came for vacation purposes has boomed in the past four months, creating a daily volume of $500,000. The town, which had just a few stores a year ago, has now turned into a giant trade center with 340 stores. Investments to open more are ongoing. Around 5,000 Georgians visit the city in an ordinary day, but as the district bazaar has started Ğ upon demand Ğ to offer services two days a week, the figure has reached 10,000 people.
A savior amid crisis
"A friend of mine mentioned Kemalpaşa, and I did some research. The union of chambers renewed the Sarp border gate. Even Koç [Holding] is said to have an investment plan. This has inspired confidence for me. I met with the Hopa Chamber of Industry," said Haydar Salıcı, who came to the town a month ago from Uşak, an inner-Aegean city. "I had 15 workers in Uşak, and I decided to come to Kemalpaşa in order not to leave them jobless," he added.
Salıcı, who markets not only household textiles but also plastic household products, expects that the business volume will grow in the upcoming period.
Ali Şimşek, who arrived from the Aegean city of Denizli, has a similar story. Şimşek used to supply wholesale goods to this small town, but demand has increased in recent months, he said. Upon hearing about the booming border trade, he said he wanted to "market our own products ourselves rather than supplying wholesale goods."
Operating with cash is a great advantage, Şimşek said.
"The trade here has substantially relieved Denizli. The number of goods sold has increased and many people living in Denizli arrived here, enabling cash flow."
Muhammet Pekdemir and his partner, Mustafa Elkaş, who are Malatya-based jean manufacturers, are also among those who were aggrieved by the crisis but found relief in the small town.
Elkaş said their production under the "Ordinal Jeans" brand almost came to a halt. "My partner had 25 workers. The crisis has almost halted the business, and our inventories rose. Kemalpaşa became the solution for us."
He noted that the business was better a few months ago. "Now, the number of stores is rising and the pie is getting sliced more."
"Neither an institution nor any other person had a role in the emergence of this trade. All have developed spontaneously," said Engin Koyuncu, chairman of the Hopa Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
"Here lies great trade potential. At present, only Georgian customers at the Batumi and Tbilisi line arrive, constituting a trade volume of $2 billion annually. If that trade is expanded to other countries, such as Turkmenistan and Armenia, the region’s annual turnover may reach $5 billion to $6 billion," said Koyuncu.
"Both Georgian and the Autonomuous Republic of Adjara have a warm prospect for bilateral trade,"Koyuncu said. "Each Turkish product entering without a visa provides jobs and food for Georgians."
A visa-free pass implementation signed between Georgia and Turkey two years ago has contributed to the development of the trade between the two countries. Tax is not imposed on Turkish goods, another factor that helps trade. Georgian customers located half an hour away from Batumi pay visits for the day to find products unavailable in their countries.