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8.1.3 Transport sector news
8.1.4 Construction & Real estate sector news
“In the past five years, the profitability of Turkish contractors has been on the decline while the government launched campaigns for mortgage loans with monthly costs of 0.64-0.74%.”
Prior to the cheap loan campaign in 2020, the number of new housing projects was declining. However, contractors since last year have renewed their drive to establish new projects. As a result, unsold home stock is increasing again.
After it took power in 2002, Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) fuelled external borrowing and channelled funds into construction, with the industry seen as providing easy and chunky returns. However, it can be an infertile industry and the AKP’s economic policy hit the wall in 2016, as many observers anticipated it would.
Since then, Turkey has been paying a bill for the external borrowing boom and the loan boom. To rescue contractors in 2020, it also had to negotiate the Turkish lira going into freefall.
8.1.5 Agriculture sector news
In its latest World Agricultural Production report released on August 12, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) further cut its estimate for Turkey’s barley production in the 2021/22 marketing year to 5mn tonnes, anticipating a decline of 38% y/y. The estimate was lower by a fifth compared to the July forecast of 6.2mn.
The USDA also further cut its 2021/22 wheat production estimate for Turkey to 16.5mn tonnes, down from the 17mn tonnes forecast in July, 17.25mn tonnes in May and 18.25mn tonnes in 2020/21.
The department saw Turkey’s wheat consumption at 22mn tonnes and barley consumption at 6.2mn tonnes in 2021/22.
The USDA also lowered its global wheat production estimate by 2% m/m, or 15mn tonnes, with smaller crops forecast in Russia, Canada, Turkey, Kazakhstan and the US.
41 TURKEY Country Report September 2021 www.intellinews.com