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Republican People's Party (CHP) İzmir MP Mahir Polat submitted a parliamentary question to Minister of Trade Ruhsar Pekcan last January and addressed her a series of questions regarding the high number of shoe stores and firms that filed for bankruptcy protection (declaration of concordat) as a result of rising exchange rates in August-October 2018 period.
Answering the parliamentary question, Minister Pekcan has announced that in the last four years, 8 thousand 50 firms operating in the manufacture, repair and trade of shoes have been registered while the registrations of 4 thousand 85 shoe companies have been cancelled, meaning that they have gone out of business. In the indicated period in İzmir, 652 firms have been registered while 341 of them have closed up.
Daily shoe manufacture fell to 15-20 thousand
Minister Pekcan has further stated that the related figures apply to the period between January 1, 2015 and March 7, 2019.
CHP MP Polat, on the other hand, has stated that the number of shoes daily manufactured in Işıkkent Shoe-Makers Site in Bornova, İzmir has fallen from 80-100 thousand to 15-20 thousand.
In his parliamentary question, Polat wanted to learn the number of shoe manufacturers that have gone out of business and people who have become unemployed in Turkey in general and in İzmir in particular. (HA/SD)
