20 percent depreciation in TL of the exporter

The president of the Aegean Exporters Association, Jak Eskinazi, stated that Turkish exporters have no chance to compete at current exchange rate levels and called for the weakening of the lira and an end to central bank pressure on the companies.

Eskinazi said that for Turkish exporters to compete against global rivals, the lira must depreciate by 20 to 25 percent against the dollar.

EXPORTER’S CURRENCY PRESSURE COMPLAINTS

At the general assembly meeting held yesterday, Eskinazi said: “We are trying to protect our capital. We have many problems accessing credit. I hope that the pressures from the Central Bank will be lifted as soon as possible”.

These pressures include the requirement that exporters convert their foreign exchange earnings into lira and deposit foreign currency in banks to obtain loans.

“If these policies continue after the elections, the factories will close,” Eskinazi told Bloomberg, adding that the lira needs to depreciate 20 to 25 percent against the dollar for exports to become competitive again.

Jack Eskinazi

ECONOMIC ACTIVITY DECREASES

Official data points to a slowdown in economic activity and further pressure on the currency ahead of the May 14 elections.

Industrial production fell 8.2 percent in February, while the unemployment rate rose to 10 percent, data released this week showed. In the first two months of 2023, the current account deficit reached $18.8 billion.