Trade chamber head plans to raise sheep
Hayria Çetinkaya, Hülya Güler ISTANBUL / Hürriyet
Yalçıntaş will not run for the presidency of Istanbul Chamber of Commerce next time.
Istanbul Chamber of Commerce President Murat Yalçıntaş will not run for the presidency of the chamber in the next election, planning instead to run his sheep farm and greenhouse cultivation businesses in Çatalca, which he says give him peace of mind.Yalçıntaş was jailed for 40 days on claims of bribery and fraud. The trial and custody process had a deep impact on him, he said.
“One of the businessmen asked my occupation. I answered ‘I am a herdsman and a countryman.’ I want to move away from the intensive business life of the big city and invest in agriculture and husbandry,” he said.
Agriculture is a strategic sector for Turkey, Yalçıntaş said, adding, “The Ministry of Agriculture gives significant incentives for agricultural investments. We have benefited from those incentives.”
Elections for chamber management are planned to take place next February and March.
Yalçıntaş is one of the founders of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), but he said “I have made a clean break with politics.”
