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 İstanbul 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.
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