Events
| Competition Summit organized on the Occasion of the 21st Anniversary of the Competition Authority |
| The theme of the Competition Summit organized on 9 November 2018 in Ankara on the occasion of the 21st Anniversary of the Turkish Competition Authority was “Competitive Approach to Agriculture-Food Industry and Value Chain”. The Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Dr. Bekir PAKDEMİRLİ honored the summit. Following the opening speeches held by the President of the Competition Authority Prof. Ömer TORLAK and the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Dr. Bekir PAKDEMİRLİ, the head of Akdeniz University Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences Management Department Prof. Ahmet BAYANER made a presentation. Afterwards, the Vice President of the Competition Authority Kürşat ÜNLÜSOY moderated the panel where TED University Faculty member Associate Prof. Semih TÜMEN, the head of the Union of Turkish Agricultural Chambers Technical Services Board Dr. M. Fethi GÜVEN, Assistant General Director of the Ministry of Trade Hakan ÇALIŞ and CEO and CFO of BİM Birleşik Mağazalar A.Ş. Haluk DORTLUOĞLU participated as speakers. This year’s Competition Summit aimed at creating a competitive and holistic approach to agriculture-food industry value chain, which is vital for our economy, and served as a platform for participants to discuss the challenges and solutions about agriculture and food industry. President of the Competition Authority Prof. TORLAK emphasized that countries attach more and more importance to planning and implementing policies giving priority to efficiency and sustainability in agriculture and food value chain in the face of increasing needs. Highlighting that although competitive structure in agriculture-food industry may often lag behind, it is a determinative factor for the efficiency and effectiveness of government policies, Torlak pointed out that it is necessary to adopt a holistic approach at micro and macro level; create a competitive approach for agriculture-food industry reforms; to harmonize agriculture-food value chain with both local and global needs and make regulations and support programs according to this aim. Torlak also stated that the Competition Authority has carried out inquiries, within the powers granted by the Act no. 4054 on the Protection of Competition, for 21 years; those inquiries not also looked into anticompetitive conduct but also structural problems threatening or distorting competitive process. The Competition Authority shared its observations with the public authorities and institutions concerned. Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Dr. Bekir PAKDEMİRLİ emphasized that planning and security of food supply are vital for the competitiveness of agriculture-food industry and added that it is more and more important to use agriculture and water sources efficiently in the face of increasing world population; therefore, countries which make correct planning in agricultural production and create efficiencies will have more advantage in the future. Pakdemirli stated that losses and inefficiencies in agriculture-food value chain may reach high levels and there are legal regulations in this area, following those regulations everyone will take a fair share from the value created. Pakdemirli emphasized that Turkey is on the first rank across Europe with respect to agricultural yield however, we have to increase our production at 50% in 20 years for security of supply and this is only possible with a successful planning. This planning should cover all value chain stages from seed to customers. Regulation and support programs give priority to increasing agricultural lands and business scales, strengthening cooperatives and producer associations, encouraging domestic seeds and products, and using water resources efficiency. Head of Akdeniz University Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences Management Department Prof. Ahmet BAYANER touched upon the importance of efficiency in agricultural production in his presentation and stated that big firms are getting more market share by means of consolidation and vertical integration, which makes more pressure on producers’ revenues and makes producers/farmers more fragile and this is a challenge for the sustainability of the sector. Vice president Kürşat ÜNLÜSOY moderated the panel on Competitive Approach to Agriculture-Food Industry and Value Chain. First, TED Unversity Faculty Member Associate Professor Semih TÜMEN stated that each element of the value chain production-input-transport-storage-wholesale-retail sale has a different competition parameter, there are different causes for different inflationary movements, as price variations become more frequent, price perception deteriorates and the effects of inflation become more perceptible, it is not meaningful to make inspections in response to small complaints made due to seasonal price increases. The Head of the Union of Turkish Agricultural Chambers Technical Services Board Dr. M. Fethi GÜVEN highlighted that there are structural problems in agricultural production such as divided land structure, lack of producers’ organizations, cost increases due to the increases in exchange rates, the fact that Turkish farmers’ purchasing power is lower at global scale, that farmers’ share in gross domestic income is decreasing despite subventions, and the decrease in young population because of urban migration. Assistant General Director of the Ministry of Trade Hakan ÇALIŞ drew attention to the difference between producer-retailer sales prices. ÇALIŞ suggested that it is necessary to make effective marketing rather than producing more and informed that the law on wholesale market halls envisages increasing the sale of products through producers’ organizations, simplifying producers’ organizations, solving the problems related to guarantee that producers and retailers encounter by increasing market shares. Lastly ÇALIŞ underlined that products manufactured and stored are followed online and as a result it is possible to know when and what to interfere. CEO and CFO of BİM Birleşik Mağazalar A.Ş. Haluk DORTLUOĞLU stated that they are trying to establish a more economical and efficient supply chain and reflect cost increases to prices as less as possible. DORTLUOĞLU added that lack of planning in the production level is also a problem of supply stage, in each product produced there are non-production costs such as transport and package which reaches to 62% and a share of 37% is left to producers and retailers and the share of 62% should be lowered for efficiency. Competition Summit 2018 ended with presentation of plaques to speakers and panelists and a family photo. |
| President of the Competition Authority Prof. Dr. Ömer TORLAK in Rize |
| President of the Competition Authority Prof. Dr. Ömer TORLAK gave the opening lecture of 2018-2019 Academic Year in Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University with his presentation on “Global Inequalities: Digitalization in Growth and Development and the Role of Competition Policy”. Pointing out how competition policy is contributing to the growth and development of countries, overcoming global inequalities and improvement of trends such as digitalization in favor of the society, President TORLAK said that “Both markets and policies are the products of people. Although they are not perfect they may bring to perfection” in the opening lecture where Prof. Dr. Hüseyin KARAMAN, the President of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University, Prof. Dr. Alaattin KIZILTAN, the Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, faculty members and students participated. President TORLAK wished the students a successful academic year and recommended them to follow the publications about their major, read books related to sociology, literature, logic and philosophy to gain knowledge in different fields of interest and a critical point of view by means of freeing from fixed ideas. Moreover, President TORLAK met the representatives of the business world in September Meeting of Rize Chamber of Trade and Industry, hosted by the Chairman Şaban Aziz KARAMEHMETOĞLU, with the participation of Governor of Rize, Erdoğan BEKTAŞ, Mayor of Rize Municipality, Reşat KASAP and Hüseyin KARAMAN, the President of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University. President TORLAK gave information about the Competition Authority and answered the questions from the participants. President TORLAK emphasized that the Competition Authority is fulfilling its duties properly within the scope of competition law regardless of the sector and stated that the sectors where the Competition Authority intervenes changes time to time. |
| Internship Program for Students from Various Universities in Europe and Canada |
| Through the agency of the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities, eight students from various universities in Europe and Canada completed an internship program at the Competition Authority. During the program organized between September 10 and October 3, the students enjoyed a theoretical education and conducted studies in different departments. The program ended with a sample Oral Hearing and Certificate Ceremony. |
| Participation to the Competition Week in Russia |
| On behalf of the Competition Authority, Board Member Adem BİRCAN, Vice President Kürşat ÜNLÜSOY and Competition Expert Ebru İNCE participated in the Competition Week in Russia organized by the Federal Antimonopoly Service Russia in Sochi between 24 and 27 September 2018. Within the framework of the event, President Kürşat ÜNLÜSOY co-moderated the session of the International Working Group on ICT, which discussed “IPR and Competition Law” and “Online Platforms and Competition Law”. Ebru İNCE made presentations about the experiences of Turkey. |
| Participation to Turkey-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement Negotiations |
| Osman Tan ÇATALCALI participated in the eleventh round of the negotiations for Turkey-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement on behalf of the Competition Authority. During the productive negotiation process, both parties submitted their opinion about the competition chapter in the Economic Partnership Agreement and agreed on the necessary steps to be taken before the next round. The following negotiations are expected to be held in December in our country. |
| Turkish Competition Authority and Albanian Competition Authority signed Memorandum of Understanding |
| Turkish Competition Authority and Albanian Competition Authority signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 18.09.2018 in Ankara in order to further the cooperation, carry out joint studies and facilitate information exchange on competition law and policy. The Memorandum in question was signed by the president Prof. Dr. Juliana LATIFAJ on behalf of the Albanian Competition Authority and the President Prof. Dr. Ömer TORLAK on behalf of the Turkish Competition Authority. Vice President of the Albanian Competition Authority Eduart YPI and Board Member Hasan Hüseyin ÜNLÜ and Vice President Kürşat ÜNLÜSOY also attended the signing ceremony. After the ceremony, the presidents exchanged their views about the latest developments in competition law and policy in their countries. |
| Participation to Fordham 45th International Antitrust Law and Policy Conference |
| 45th International Antitrust Law and Policy Conference by Fordham University Competition Law Institute was organized between 5 and 8 September 2018 in New York. President of the Competition Authority Prof. Ömer TORLAK, Head of the Department Ali ARIÖZ and Competition Expert Ibrahim Hilmi KOÇAK participated in the Conference on behalf of the Competition Authority. During the Presidents’ Meeting sessions, which were non-public, on “Competition and Big Data” and “the Era of Dominance” were held on the first day of the conference. The participants discussed whether big data is a reliable monitoring tool and whether it is an essential element in antitrust analyses in the first session. Competition authorities from 26 different countries discussed whether dominance is harmful in digitalized markets considering network effects and efficiencies and whether tools used in traditional markets are valid in digitalized market in the second closed-door meeting. The second day of the conference was open to public. Three different panels were devoted to “Antitrust and populism”, “divestiture in vertical markets” and “Emerging Issues in Competition Law and Health Care” issues respectively. The last day of the conference was devoted to “merger enforcement around the globe” and “managing multijurisdictional risks and issues” topics were discussed with the participation of the representatives of the business world. The participants emphasized that there is a need for international cooperation with respect to global mergers in transforming markets. |
| Assignments to the Competition Board |
| Ahmet Algan, Hasan Hüseyin Ünlü and Şükran Kodalak were assigned as Competition Board Members according to the Decision of the President numbered 2018/46, which was published in the Official Gazette dated 25 July 2018 and numbered 30489, and took office after taking an oath, as per article 26 of the Act no. 4054 on the Protection of Competition, at the ceremony made at the Court of Cassation on 27 July 2018, Friday. |
| Participation in the Seminar on Mergers and Acquisitions held in Albania (19-21 June 2018) |
| On behalf of the Competition Authority, Hatice YAVUZ participated in the Seminar on Merger Control Investigations held in Tirana, the capital of Albania between June 19-21 as a panelist and moderator of a sub-session. Eighteen countries participated in the seminar held with the coordination of OECD GVH Regional Center for Competition. In addition to the Turkish Competition Authority, panelists from Holland, Lithuania and Hungary made presentations about and discussed the issues related to preliminary inquiry, final examination, commitments, information requests, use and role of questionnaires in merger control. Besides, a case study about three hypothetical cases were made by sub-groups. Competition Expert Hatice YAVUZ, on behalf of our Authority, made presentations and moderated sub-sessions during the three-day seminar. |
| Participation in EU Internal Market and Competition Subcommittee |
| Vice President Kürşat ÜNLÜSOY and Head of the Department Ali ARIÖZ participated in Internal Market and Competition Subcommittee meeting with European Commission officials held in Brussels on 19 June 2018 under the coordination of Ministry of EU Affairs. During the meeting our representatives gave information about decision statistics and important decisions as well as realized and planned amendments to the legislation. |
Total : 30 records