TURKEY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23951, 28 October 1939, Page 16

TURKEY

HER ECONOMIC POSITION

By Dr G. C. Billing

When the formation of the RomeBerlin Axis startled the world in 1936 Britain, and France were cut off from South-Eastern Europe as far as any approach by land was concerned. Their route was the sea, and almost at once efforts were made to strengthen relations with the southern Balkan States, Greece and Turkey. The Montreaux Convention gave to Turkey the right to re-fortify the Dardanelles and it was a most important and gratifying result that a British firm secured the contract for the work in spite, it is said, of a lower tender having been offered by Krupps. And now, after some weeks of doubt, relief and pleasure are felt again at the signing of the Mutual Assistance Pact between Turkey, France and Britain. Turkey has been described by the British Minister for War as our “brave and respected friend.” Everyone is familiar with the military prowess of the Turks, but just as fundamentally important are the strides that have been made in the development of a strong nation since the establishment of the present regime by Kemal Ataturk in 1923.

Turkey holds now only a small portion of the Balkan peninsula; her main interests and the capital of her country, Ankara, are withdrawn to Asia Minor. In all she has an area of nearly 300,000 square miles, riot quite three times as large as New Zealand. The population is about 17,000,000. We are all moderately familiar with some of the things that have been done to make the new Turkey a totalitarian State founded, nevertheless, on some of the principles of “Western” government and seeking to embody “ Western" ideas in the accepted programme for social life and advancement. Women were given the vote as well as men in 1924. Education became free as well as compulsory in primary schools —an effort to end the prevailing illiteracy in that portion of South-Eastern Europe and to make possible in the future some measure of equality of opportunity in all branches of Turkish life.

The country is mainly agricultural, although a somewhat larger area than the farm lands is forested. Wheat an.d barley are the chief crops,. ;and Turkey usually has some wheat to export. Cotton is becoming more important in recent times, but the greatest crop from the export point of view is tobacco. There are also fairly large supplies of grapes, olives, hazel nuts and, of course, figs, typically the products of Mediterranean countries. Tobacco is grown chiefly in the north, the dried fruits in the Smyrna district on the Mediterranean coast. The central part of the country is a very large plateau, and much or it is relatively infertile grassland. This explains the large numbers of animals in Turkey—cattle, asses and mules, horses and camels, over half a million buffaloes, about 15,000,000 sheep and over 11,000,000 goats. Wool from the goats is an important export. „ Turkey’s economic aim is to be an industrial State and as self-sufficient as possible. The necessary basis is an iron and steel industry. There is an extensive coal field near the shores of the Black Sea about 200 miles from Istanbul (formerly Constantinople). Deposits of iron ore have recently been discovered, and the iron and steel centre is the town of Karabuk, not far from the coal supplies. Like other factory towns, it is placed inland, one reason being to make attack from the sea and from the air more difficult. Deposits of chrome ore are distributed' quite widely but mainly near the western shores of the 1 Mediterranean. Turkey produces about a quarter of the world’s supply. The fashionable fiveyear plan has been adopted, factories are being erected and mining plants established for copper and lead as well as a variety of other minerals. Cotton mills are placed inland as. well as near Istanbul and there are plants for making glass, paper and cellulose products. These factory towns are well distributed throughout the country and as the plan develops the industrial population should be well balanced. At present large towns are few. Besides Istanbul, with its threequarters of a million people, there are only two with more than 100,000. Incidentally it appears to he of great importance at the present time that the steel works are being built by Messrs Brassert. the British firm well known now to New Zealanders. It is estimated that the output will be sufficient to supply Turkish needs. More factories are being developed to make machines and motors and other modern products subsidiary to the heavy industries. . One interesting feature of the development of modern Turkey is her attempt to be self-reliant in the provision of the capital necessary to develop her resources. Like Greece, and unlike the northern Balkan countries, she does not now encourage the use of private capital from abroad. The State has adopted the policy of ownership and exploitation of natural resources and has pursued it vigorously, at the same time as private enterprises have been developed. Some loans from abroad have, however, been necessary since the depression, and particularly since the general expansion of rearmament programmes after 1936. The recent large loan from Britain and France should do much to strengthen industrial relations between the allied countries. The German trade drive to SouthEastern Europe has succeeded In recent years in diverting trade to a considerable extent. High prices were paid for tobacco and nuts and cotton in the effort to persuade Turkey to take more German goods in exchange. It is unfortunate from tfie point of view of those who wish to see an expansion of trade. between Britain and Turkey (and Greece as well) that British smokers prefer Virginian tobacco. because the Turkish variety is by far the most important export pt both these countries. Nevertheless, in spite of the German trade expansion and the influence of technical experts from the Reich. Turkey has maintained a strongly independent spirit in developing her national economy to suit her own purposes. That she has swung into line definitely now with France and Britain almost surely provides for the maintenance of Peaceful relations in a part of the eastern Mediterranean that was one of the worst storm centres of the Great War.