Exporters worried by hot money inflows

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Hot cash entering the market may cause forex fluctuations, Büyükekşi says.

The Turkey Exporters Union (TİM) is worried that an inflow of liquidity into Turkey could lead to a new 
wave of exchange rate volatility, TİM President Mehmet Büyükekşi said yesterday. 

“Interest rates are falling in China. There is a rapid outflow of liquidity from Brazil. These flows could come to Turkey because of the high interest rates. The Central Bank has managed things very well over the past two years and should continue doing so. We don’t want to return to the old days,” said Büyükekşi. He said that if the exchange rate basket were to fall below 2, it could cause problems for the Turkish economy. 

He stressed that the Central Bank should remain proactive and modify its policies accordingly and that this is very important for Turkey both in terms of its economy and its current account deficit. 
According to Büyükekşi, Iraq will be the country that Turkey exports to most by 2013. He also 
explained that the fall in exporter profits was due to the fact that exporters were forced to lower their prices in order to sell in troublesome markets. 

“In the third quarter of the year or the beginning of the fourth quarter, if there is an improvement in the European economy, our exports will not go down even if they don’t increase,” added Büyükekşi. He also said that the 2023 goal of having exports make up for 80 percent of imports, was still very achievable with the continuing trend in the increase in exports.