EARLIER this week we read in the press that the Green Line regulation which allows trade between the two sides was posing a threat to Greek Cypriot manufacturers. Brick factories, mattress-makers, plastics factories and mosaic tile manufacturers were facing unfair competition from manufacturers in the north, said the Federation of Employers and Industrialists (OEV) in a statement issued a few days ago.
Turkish Cypriot products were cheaper because their factories did not have to comply with EU regulations. For instance, brick factories did not have to use costly environmentally-friendly fuel for production; coal was being used, which the factories in the Republic were prohibited from using. While this is a fair point, there was also another reason why bricks made in the north were 25 per cent cheaper – lower labour costs, a factor which could not be overlooked. Could lower labour costs be cited to back claims of unfair competition as well?
Greek Cypriot manufacturers have also alleged that many of the products sold by the north are in fact produced in Turkey and were falsely certified by the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce as being made in Cyprus. If this were the case, it would be a violation of the Green Line Regulation and should be stopped, but first evidence must be provided. The Republic’s authorities cannot stop the sale of certified Turkish Cypriot products on the strength of allegations.
OEV also charged that Greek Cypriot manufacturers had been prevented from selling bricks in the north. If these allegations are correct, the government would be justified in taking action, but what if all the fuss is an attempt by our manufacturers to protect their high prices? And is there really a threat from Turkish Cypriot brick manufacturers whose share of the Greek Cypriot market is a meagre three per cent?
The fact that we are in recession, with every business at pains to maintain its revenues and market share, does not help matters. Complaints about unfair competition are unlikely to go away. A week ago fishermen were complaining that fish being caught off the coast of Turkey was being sold by Turkish Cypriots to taverns in Limassol and Paphos.
Again, there was no hard evidence to support the claim, but could the possibility be ruled out? We agreed to the Green Line Regulation, under pressure from the EU, in the hope that trade would bring the two sides closer together.
In the end the regulation is having the opposite effect. It is causing more mistrust and hostility between the two sides. And when a moderate organisation like OEV, which had always supported co-operation between the two sides, is complaining about abuses of the Green Line Regulation, by the Turkish Cypriot side is there any hope for the future?
