Erhan Hoşhanlı, being elected for the membership of assebly and the chairmanship of Istanbul Chamber of Commerce Jewelry Committee, evaluated the 22 May elections in the explanations he made to Habergold.com.
As in the most sectors, we have legal and market troubles caused by the deficiency of law, blockages due to commercial circumstances in our sector. The most important of all, as legal troubles, is about the special consumption tax of %20 for importation of precious stones... We have a trouble about both facing the unfair rivalry of international fund and due to this kind of high taxation, our sector is pushed into unrecordednes and institutionalization is blocked and kept back.
So we hope this trouble,seemed the most important for us, to be solved immediately with the implicit approval of government. It is the most important problem for us. Apart form that in our sector, the second important problem is " training of educated intermediate staff”.
Who is Erhan Hoşhanlı?
We started our career in 1976 and carry on for 37 years. We started our family business from apprenticeship. We had manifacturing dimension in Malatya. We took part in the international fairs.
We began trading in Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. After a while, we had a business firm of retail, importation and exportation. In America, we started trading in 2008. We opened an office there. We founded a marketing team including all states of America. We carry out our activities as jewelry there.
We were head of commitee of chamber of trade in about 2000 in Istanbul Chamber of Trade. Afterwards, we carried on as member of assembly. Now, we have the mission of the head of commitee and membership of assebly as sector in the last elections carried out in 22 May.
We spent first 18-20 years of 37 years our career life in Malatya. Later on we have avtivities in Istanbul. We started with Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, then we came jewelry city. We have been here in jewelry city...
We started jewelry as family business. I have been in this sector since I was 6. We have been in jewelry sector for 50 years. In the period I was in Malatya, I carried out the head of Malatya Chamber of Jewelry twice. In the period of my headship in Malatya, we struggle with the second edition jewelry that was in existence in the market in that term, and struggling with the low carat gold. We started some labour to restrain the activities of sinister people. And really we had influences around Turkey. We set an example for the other cities with our activities.
When I came Istanbul, I saw there was an indifference in the foundations of the sector. People generally have the understanding as we have a representative, and so we don't have to do something.
We have activities to increase the interest for our foundations, to increase the susceptibility of first chamber of jewelry, then the Istanbul chamber of commerce, with our counterparts together.