Turkish firms try bartering French goods as tension lingers
Turkish customers in a shopping mall in Ä°stanbul walk by a banner
which reads `We don’t sell’ with reference to products imported from
France. (Photo: Today’s Zaman)
8 January 2012 / TODAY’S ZAMAN, Ä°STANBUL
Turkish importers are trying to barter French products amid fears of a
comprehensive boycott of goods from this country in Turkey as tension
between the two countries continues due to a controversial piece of
legislation.
A bill to criminalize the denial of Armenian claims that their
ancestors were subject to genocide in Anatolia during World War I
passed in the lower house of the French Parliament on Dec. 22,
prompting an angry Turkey to recall its ambassador and suspend
contacts and military cooperation. Political sanctions aside, the
Turkish government did not decide to boycott any French products, nor
did they choose to encourage private companies to this end. Separate
Turkish NGOs and consumer unions, however, have called on consumers
`not to prefer French goods in the first place.’ A similar
repercussion has been seen by some importers, data from a Turkish
barter company shows.
In bartering, goods or services are directly exchanged for other goods
or services without the use of a unit of exchange such as money. As
sentiment towards boycotting French products grows among customers,
more and more Turkish importing companies are finding their way to
organized barter exchanges, trying to get rid of their stocks of
French goods. Sistem Barter CEO Orhan Besle on Sunday told reporters
in Ä°stanbul that the number of French-branded products offered for
barter on their website takasdepo.com has recently reached 10,000.
`The companies are making haste to exchange products they earlier
received from France for mostly motor vehicles and real estate.’ Besle
says import firms have also introduced 15 to 30 percent discounts on
French goods to attract customers. He says among the majority of
French products offered for barter on their website are textile and
cosmetics products. Turkey exported goods worth $8.2 billion to France
in 2010. This number was $7.8 billion in the January-November period
of 2011.Besle says companies fear that even more customers in Turkey
will boycott French products if the bill is enacted in France. The
French Parliament, however, has not yet made it a crime to deny that
the 1915 killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks constituted genocide.
`There is still hope in different circles that the bill will be
cancelled by the French Parliament. Most companies are patiently
waiting for this to happen,’ Besle adds.