The war in Russia and Ukraine has hit the Laleli market, which is at the heart of Turkey's currency activity.
Orders from Laleli shopkeepers, who do business in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and neighboring countries, especially Russia and Ukraine, stopped and could not receive their payments.
With the economic crisis, the pandemic and now the war, the tradesmen, who did not have any work left, but still struggled to work, talked to the Milli Gazete and told about the effects of the war.
“As soon as the war started, it also started to affect us”
Uğur Doğan, one of the tradesmen from Laleli, "As soon as the war started, its effect started on us as well. Because there is a war that affects not only Ukraine and Russia, but also Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Our orders have been cut. We had orders to send to Russia on Monday, we cannot reach customers. We talked to customers in Kazakhstan, they said that there is no dollar in the country. That's why they can't buy goods. We also talked to our Ukrainian customers, all of them have closed their shops and are in trouble. 50% of the market was open account. Now they've all exploded. Because customers will not be able to send money, and you cannot request money from someone who is in that situation. As a result, everything stopped in an instant," he said.
“THE STOP IN HERE AFFECTS THE WHOLE COUNTRY”
Ali Aydın, who works in the clothing industry, "Business situation sucks... Laleli means Russia and Ukraine. You would think that when someone left, there was one market left, but now the two have come together. This is where the foreign exchange traffic is the most. This war completely finished the Fatih region. This stop affects the whole country. This place should not be thought of as a single store. There are tens of thousands of workshops that make goods here. This week, the number of employees in the workshop has halved at least. We had a 16-person workshop, we reduced it to 6. I have a lot of canceled orders, we have the goods. We don't get what we get. I have the worst loss of 10 thousand dollars in a week. If the situation is like this, many people will come to the point of closing their shops," he said.
“WE HAD A LOT OF FABRIC, NOW WE ARE THINKING WHAT TO DO”
Sabri Cuci, operating in clothing, "We had 20-25 customers in the region. Our order status has been dropped. Our customers in Russia cannot receive dollars due to the increase in foreign currency. He can't do business because of the war, and those who want to do business can't get dollars. We are not currently taking orders. We do not know when we will receive orders. We bought a lot of fabric because the season was about to open, now we are thinking about what to do," he said.
"OUR CUSTOMERS ARE ALSO APPROACHING WITH DOUBT"
Jeweler Cetin Nalci, "There seems to be a slight descent in our business. The repercussions of the war are starting to show themselves. The absence of cargo and the stoppage of flights affect us automatically. The excessive depreciation of the ruble will be reflected in sales. Our main customer in retail is foreign customers. This is something that will affect us. We address not only Russia and Ukraine, but also Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan regions. Our customers are also hesitant. Our hope is that the war is over," he said.