KTSO calls for low-interest loans and local procurement priority

KTSO Vice-President Sercan Görgüner Bahçeci said industrial businesses were trying to compete under the strain of high energy, labour and financing costs, and called for access to low-interest, long-term loans and priority for locally made products in public procurement. The proposals outlined by Bahçeci focus both on investment finance for manufacturers and on opportunities to sell in the domestic market.

Speaking on a programme on KIBRIS TV about KTSO’s Industry and Production-Based Economic Transformation Programme (Sanayi ve Üretim Temelli Ekonomik Dönüşüm Programı), Bahçeci said proposals that had been in preparation for around six months were shared with political parties during the election period.

Energy and borrowing costs in focus

Bahçeci claimed that energy costs in the TRNC (KKTC) were two to three times higher than in competing economies. He said 80-85% of imports came from Türkiye and argued that labour costs were also around twice as high as in Türkiye.

Bahçeci said high interest rates were making investment and growth more difficult, and proposed making more effective use of the Development Bank (Kalkınma Bankası) to finance production. He called for investment and business loans to be offered at low interest rates and over long terms, with repayment-free periods where necessary.

Bahçeci also said industrialists were unable to make sufficient use of solar energy, and that businesses should be allowed to generate and store electricity through their own investments. He said this approach could reduce energy costs without requiring direct state support.

Proposal for local sourcing in tourism, higher education and construction

Bahçeci called for the needs of the tourism, higher education and construction sectors to be met from local producers wherever possible. He said businesses producing furniture, aluminium and glass to international standards were operating locally, and proposed giving locally made products priority in public tenders and state-supported investments.

According to figures provided by Bahçeci, exports cover 4.95% of imports. He said industry’s share of gross domestic product had fallen to 6% from 10-11% around seven to eight years ago, and called for a production-focused transformation to become a permanent state policy.

Calls for inspection and coordination

KTSO’s proposals also include an Industry Coordination Board (Sanayi Koordinasyon Kurulu), bringing together the public and private sectors. Bahçeci called for imported and locally made products to be subject to equal requirements for quality certificates, health certificates and inspections, and for customs arrangements and quotas to be reviewed in line with sectoral needs.

Drawing attention to informality and a lack of oversight in the tax system, Bahçeci argued that frequent tax and social security contribution amnesties negatively affected businesses that paid regularly. He also called for consideration of the difference between the interest charged on businesses’ debts to the state and the state’s overdue payments to businesses.