Azernews.Az

By News Center

Turkish Trade Minister Ömer Bolat attended the 27th Annual Consumer Awards ceremony on December 10, 2024. The minister gave a speech at the ceremony and said that as a ministry, one of their important goals is to protect the economic rights of consumers.

“We are aware that a good economy cannot be achieved without conscious consumers who trust the market. Because the issue of consumer protection has strategic importance not only in terms of individual rights but also in terms of economic sustainability and social balance,” said Bolat.

The minister underlined that they carried out intensive inspection activities in products such as automotive, real estate, jewellery, cement, ready-mixed concrete, bread, flour, water, eggs, red and white meat, especially basic food and necessities.

“Since we took office, our General Directorate of Domestic Trade has imposed and collected ₺832mln ($24mln) of administrative fines in its 18-month inspections. In addition, our ministry’s central and provincial organizations have imposed administrative fines of over ₺5bln ($0.14bln) in 18 months within the scope of consumer legislation,” said the minister.

Ömer Bolat added that this year, consumer awards were given in 5 categories with the aim of developing consumer awareness, encouraging consumers to use their legal rights, and encouraging companies that take consumer demands and preferences into consideration.

Yeni Şafak Newspaper Ankara News Director Fazlı Şahan was also deemed worthy of the Consumer Special Award. Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat presented Şahan with his award.