Turkey is the Biggest and Flexible Raw Cotton Supplier in the Region: Banning will Lead to Rise in Price
Raw material for Armenia’s light industry—cotton fabrics, hosiery and etc—is mainly imported from Turkey. What exit do Armenian producers have in case of a political resolution on banning the import of Turkish products and intensifying anti-Turkish moods, and what may Turkish raw material be substituted for?
Suren Bekirski, Director of Tosp knitwear factory, co-chair of the country’s Union of Light Industry Employers, told 168.am, that supposedly, raw material supply markets may be moved to other countries, but implementing it very rapidly and safe will hardly be succeeded, “It’s linked to lots of expenditures and surveys, that the supply market is going to be totally changed and it’ll definitely lead to rise in price, as China and India are too far. It’s possible working with them, it’s not impossible, however, it’ll lead to serious complications.”
In his words, Russia or Belarus may be regarded as alternatives to Turkey to some extent, but if we intend to be competitive, by buying the raw material in Russia, we won’t have a competitive advantage over Russian or Belarusian producers for the simple reason, that travel costs will be doubled, “Also Russian or Belarusian raw material producers aren’t known with brilliant quality, thus, a survey needs to be conducted. There are raw material producers and suppliers in Armenia, however, they also aren’t able to provide a quality higher than the average, thus, we have to record, that rejecting Turkish raw material will lead to big problems, and, unfortunately, we aren’t ready to quickly respond to them, at least SMEs.
Large enterprises with large volumes can program their import for a considerable period, they can afford going to China, purchase by large quantity and transfer to Armenia. However, presently, China is a bit more expensive, than Turkey, or at least it is the same price, but the travel costs will be added to it. And the biggest problem regarding China is that it’ll be hardly possible to import with small volumes from China, large batches are needed. Thus, it’ll be necessary to purchase not by USD 5-6-7 thousand frequently, but that of USD 60-70 with less frequency, which, in its turn leads to the urgency of loan, which is a harmful topic for us.”
S.Bekirski stated, if not 90%, then about 40% of Armenia’s economy belongs to if not to Turkish production, then reaches our country through Turkey, and transit cargo through the territory of Turkey will hardly differ from its having Turkish origin or not,
“It’s a complicated topic, and I wouldn’t like to politicize it, it’s an economic issue for producers as well. Whether we want or not, Turkey is the biggest and flexible raw cotton supplier in the region, which we can’t ignore. This is my standpoint on the field, a practical one, and in this case country’s issues are higher. I won’t struggle, I have my personal viewpoint, but, at the same time, I can’t say which one is true. Supposedly, the government will be able to balance negative and positive implications,” Bekirski said.
By Gayane Khachatryan
