Turkish business is fighting against fluctuations in exchange rates that have seen record highs recently.
Many sectors that had to trade in the dollar have either pegged the exchange rate or have returned to trading in Turkish lira. In the textile sector, some companies have started trading in lira using exchange rates they themselves determined.
On the other hand, tourism professionals preferred currency pegging. Some investors in shopping centers have provided discounts, while some transferred to the lira as a method of payment for rent. Fees in the home care service industry, where mainly foreigners work, have also returned to the lira.
Turkey Clothing Manufacturers' Association Chairman Hadi Karasu said in this period when Turkey is going through a period of volatile currency, they took measures by converting to lira, particularly in the domestic market.
"Contract manufacturers saw the rate as an opportunity and doubled the figures. We tell them that if they continue like this, they will not find jobs when things return to normal. We continue to take forward rates with banks," he said.
Kararsu also said that they had made lira agreements with companies they buy raw material from.
He suggested pegging the bottom rate as TL 4.2 and the top rate as TL 4.5, indicating that according to conditions, there could be upward and downward revisions in these figures. He said there was an urgent need for a mechanism that will compress currency during this period.
The head of the United Brands Association (BMD), representing ready-to-wear brands, Sinan Öncel, said that the two thirds of shopping malls have pegged the exchange rate, provided at least a 30 percent discount in rent or have turned the contract into turnover rent for one year. According to information provided by Öncel, shopping malls have pegged prices between TL 3.20-4.30 per dollar and 3.80-5.20 per euro according to the number of visitors and their frequency, location and brand mix. Nizam Ali Eriş, director of an online caretaker providing service platform, said that domestic caretakers have started to replace foreign caretakers due to the increase in the exchange rate.
"Currently, there is a 50-50 percent local and foreign distribution. This rate was 60 percent in favor of foreigners last year," Eriş said.
Pronto Tour Chairman Ali Onaran said that the company offered discounts up to 12 percent in April and stressed that they will run operations by currency-fixing this month. "We will fix the dollar around TL 4.20 and the euro below TL 5. As long as currency volatility continues, we are obliged to fix it," he said.
Onaran also pointed out that 40 percent of tour packages previously sold in the U.S. dollar are now offered in lira. He stressed that bookings in euro and dollars declined 15 to 20 percent, while bookings for the Balkans, Russia, China and Morocco increased by 25 percent, 30 percent, 12 percent and 65 percent, respectively.