VZCZCXRO2857
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHAK #0105/01 0191330
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191330Z JAN 07
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0624
INFO RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 1958
RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 1549
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000105 
 
SIPDIS 
 
TREASURY FOR JONATHAN ROSE 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID SOCI PHUM PGOV ECON TU
SUBJECT: ISPARTA: SMELLING THE ROSES WHILE WAITING FOR PRIVATE 
INVESTMENT 
 
ANKARA 00000105  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU)   Summary. Isparta, five hours southwest of Ankara, is a 
central Anatolian city of 150,000, aptly nicknamed "The Land of 
Roses" owing to its production of sixty percent of the world's rose 
oil.  A candidate for the GOT's expanded regional investment 
incentives program, Isparta was ultimately passed over for 
selection, much to the dismay of local government officials and 
business leaders.  Given limited local manufacturing--rose oil, 
carpets, and some marble--government officials are eager to attract 
domestic and foreign investment through infrastructure assistance to 
private investors. End Summary. 
 
----------------------------------- 
GULBIRLIK: A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Singled out by Turkey's leading economic newspaper as one 
of the most successful regional Turkish companies of 2006, 
Gulbirlik, an agricultural sales cooperative comprised of six 
separate cooperatives with 8,000 "producer partners" (individual 
rose growers), is the largest producer of rose oil in Turkey and the 
leading exporter in the world.  Gulbirlik's deputy general manager, 
Hasan Celik, estimated individual rose growers receive approximately 
1.5 dollars for every kilo of harvested roses.  Gulbirlik currently 
exports 99% of its rose oil for use as a raw material in perfume and 
cosmetic manufacturing in Europe, the United States, and Canada. 
During the May/June rose oil production season, Gulbirlik processes 
approximately 320 tons of rose flowers pe day for an annual 
production of 6000 tons.  elik insisted the large seasonal work 
force isnot dependent solely on rose production for incme. 
However, government officials we spoke to acknowledged that the 
seasonality of rose cultivation and volatile rose prices are key 
factors contributing to Isparta's unemployment rate. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Gulbirlik owes much of its recent success to swift and 
innovative adaptation to policy changes affecting the status of 
agricultural cooperatives in Turkey.  The GOT declared agricultural 
cooperatives autonomous in 2000, erasing their debts and 
discontinuing further government subsidy.  Compared to Turkey's 
hazelnut cooperatives, which have struggled in recent years to turn 
a profit operating as private entities, Gulbirlik's rose 
cooperatives are thriving.  To achieve self-sufficiency, Gulbirlik 
created the "Rosense" brand in 2003 and released its own line of 
over 100 different skincare products, perfumes, and rose-flavored 
specialty food items.  With 3 million in mostly domestic sales last 
year, Gulbirlik expects to increase exports of its Rosense products 
to foreign markets in coming years. 
 
--------------------------------- 
THRIVING SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Isparta's Chamber of Commerce and Industry counts among its 
members numerous successful small business entrepreneurs with 
growing ties to the United States.  Many of them we spoke to either 
traveled to the US for business or had children working or studying 
there.  Although business leaders voiced disappointment that Isparta 
was passed over as a finalist for the GOT's regional investment 
incentives program, they touted local government efforts to attract 
domestic and foreign investment in the region.  Most recently, 
Isparta's regional government partnered with a private Turkish 
company to build a five-star resort hotel, Serene Davras Mountain 
resort, in the Davras ski area by providing the land and necessary 
infrastructure for the project.  Opened in early 2006, the hotel 
boasts a 120-room capacity and features prominently in marketing 
campaigns to boost winter tourism in the area. 
 
¶5. (SBU) METAMAR, a marble limestone manufacturer and Isparta's 
third largest employer with 650 employees, had only 60 employees 
when it opened in 1994.  METAMAR's owner, Hasan Tigli, credited 
Isparta's reliable, hardworking and stable local workforce for much 
of his company's growth.  With only 15% domestic sales, METAMAR 
exports approximately 60% of its marble products to the United 
States.  Tagli explained that his nephew, based in Los Angeles, 
serves as the company's sales manager, but he expects his son and 
daughter will join the family business upon their graduation from 
college in the US. 
 
¶6. (SBU) The Chairman of Isparta's Chamber of Commerce and Industry 
remarked that local businessmen were against the GOT's efforts to 
privatize state banks, noting that invasions take place not only 
through armies in this new century but through capital as well. In 
his opinion, the GOT was letting go of its control in the banking 
sector just for the sake of short-term economic success.  As for 
politics, he commented that the vast majority of Isparta's business 
sector would vote for DYP in the upcoming elections. 
 
 
ANKARA 00000105  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
-------------------------------- 
THE LONG ARM OF SULEYMAN DEMIREL 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Former President and Prime Minister Suleyman Demirel grew 
up in a village on the outskirts of Isparta, and the city has 
benefited greatly from the patronage of its native son.  Most 
notably, Isparta is home to Suleyman Demirel University (SDU), 
Turkey's 8th largest public university with a student body of over 
35,000.  A sprawling campus in a mountain setting, the University's 
impressive facilities include a 500-bed teaching hospital and heart 
research center.  SDU is known for programs in agricultural 
research, medicine, engineering and business sciences. 
The rector's advisor, Professor Ozer Goktepe, expects the University 
will increase its foreign student enrollment, currently at 40, and 
also anticipates initiating formal exchanges in the future with US 
universities as some of the larger Ankara and Istanbul-based 
universities have begun to do in recent years. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶8. (SBU) Business and government officials are keenly aware of the 
need for further investment in and around Isparta.  While the mayor 
has undertaken numerous beautification projects, including 
construction of an extravagant city entrance rose park, the 
precipitous decline of the local carpet industry following Turkey's 
2001 economic crisis has created skepticism about the city's ability 
to attract new industry.  Traveling through Afyon--a similar size 
city just two hours north of Isparta--where international food 
chains, hotels, and marble factories are visible from the highway, 
Isparta's lack of similar investment becomes readily apparent.  On 
the other hand, Afyon benefits from its crossroads location, thermal 
springs developed for tourism, and from having been included in the 
government's regional investment incentives program. 
WILSON