Our Union's 2021-2022 Ordinary General Assembly Held

The 2021-2022 Ordinary General Assembly of our Hazelnut Agricultural Sales Cooperatives Union was held at the Fiskobirlik Training and Social Facilities in Giresun.

The opening speech of the General Assembly was delivered by our Chairman of the Board Mr. Lütfi Bayraktar. Beginning his speech by greeting those attending the General Assembly, our Chairman Mr. Lütfi Bayraktar wished that the General Assembly would be beneficial for our Union and prayed for God's mercy upon everyone who worked with devotion and effort for the FISKOBIRLIK community and has since passed away, and upon our martyrs.

At the General Assembly, Ordu Cooperative Representative Engin Tekintaş was elected Chairman of the Presiding Committee, Giresun Cooperative Representative Metin Bay was elected Deputy Chairman, and Karasu Cooperative Representative Arif Aydin and Akçaabat Cooperative Representative Mahmut Sivrikaya were elected as Secretary Members.

Taking the floor after the moment of silence and the reading of the National Anthem, AK Party Giresun MP Mr. Sabri Öztürk wished that the General Assembly would be beneficial for hazelnut growers and conveyed his congratulations, speaking of the progress FISKOBIRLIK has made under the leadership of our Chairman Mr. Lütfi Bayraktar. In his speech, Mr. Sabri Öztürk said: ‘’In its difficult days, FISKOBIRLIK pulled itself together under the leadership of Lütfi Bayraktar and his team, leaving those difficult days behind. After hard times, FISKOBIRLIK has become an organization that stands on its own feet and satisfies growers in terms of both service and price. So much so that today it exports hazelnuts and hazelnut products to 25 countries. FISKOBIRLIK has become the most important organization in Türkiye that adds value to hazelnuts by processing them into finished products. This is a very significant achievement. We always stand by the FISKOBIRLIK management, which multiplied employment and production during the pandemic, acts in the interests of growers and gives them their due for the sweat of their brow.’’  

In his speech, our Chairman of the Board Mr. Lütfi Bayraktar gave an account of the work carried out and the progress made since the day he took office at Fiskobirlik. Noting that a significant stage has been reached in the field of production and branding in recent years, our Chairman Mr. Lütfi Bayraktar stated that this work will yield very substantial financial returns in the coming period. Stating that there has been an explosion in demand for FISKOBIRLIK products in both the domestic and foreign markets, our Chairman Mr. Lütfi Bayraktar noted that the production plants continued to operate in 3 shifts without stopping until February.

Responding also to those who criticize FISKOBIRLIK's product purchasing policy, our Chairman of the Board Mr. Lütfi Bayraktar stated: ‘’Of course we will protect our growers, but our priority is to ensure the continuity and stability of the institution. This year, we purchased the hazelnuts of all our growers at least 1 lira above the free market. We would have liked to be able to give even more than this. However, on the other hand, we have to compete with the free market and sustain this competition. In doing so, we need to strike a balance in protecting the interests of both our growers and our institution. We continue to move forward in this direction.’’

Also speaking of future plans, our Chairman of the Board Mr. Lütfi Bayraktar announced that EFIT A.Ş. has reached a turnover of 1 billion TL. Our Chairman Mr. Lütfi Bayraktar said: ‘’Our goal for the next 4 years is to make EFIT A.Ş. a marketing company by attaching the production plants to FISKOBIRLIK. At present, the turnover of EFIT A.Ş. has exceeded 1 billion TL. We will grow this marketing company and take it public on the stock exchange. This is our ultimate goal for the next 4 years.’’

Following our Chairman's speech;

Among the agenda items of the 2021-2022 business year Ordinary General Assembly,

• The item on the reading of the 2021-2022 business year Board of Directors' report, Financial Statements and Audit report was opened for discussion and accepted unanimously.
• The item on the examination and resolution of the 2021-2022 Balance Sheet, Inventory and Income-Expense Statement was opened for discussion and accepted unanimously.

• The Members of the Board of Directors were unanimously released from liability as a result of the voting and discussions held at the General Assembly.
• The assignment of the general independent audit activity for the 2022/2023 business year period to Independent Auditor Ercan Kir was submitted to the general assembly and accepted unanimously.
• The monetary entitlements of the Members of the Board of Directors, such as attendance fees and travel allowances, were accepted as a result of the discussions held following the deliberations before the General Assembly.
• The General Assembly agenda item regarding the covering of negative general expense differences in accordance with the provision of Article 68 of the Articles of Association was accepted unanimously following the deliberations and voting held before the General Assembly.
• The item on informing the general assembly about the determination of the Union's working policies and strategies, the annual work programs for their implementation and the budget for the coming year (2022/2023), as well as the Union's Strategy Document for the years 2019-2022, and on discussing and resolving the Fiskobirlik Strategy Document covering the years 2023-2026, was opened for discussion and accepted unanimously.
• The item on discussing and resolving to put into practice the amendments made to the Regulation on the Purchase and Sale of Goods and Services and Manufacturing-Construction Works of the S.S. Hazelnut Agricultural Sales Cooperatives Union and its affiliated cooperatives, prepared by the Union's Board of Directors pursuant to Articles 46 and 61 of the Articles of Association of the Agricultural Sales Cooperatives (T.S.K.) Union, was opened for discussion and accepted unanimously.

Following the discussion of the General Assembly agenda items, the election of the Board of Directors was held. With the election held on a single list, our new Board of Directors was formed as follows: our Chairman of the Board Mr. Lütfi Bayraktar from the Kocaali Cooperative, Mr. Sitki Şarman from the Ordu Cooperative, Mr. Arif Kayali from the Akçakoca Cooperative, Mr. Murat Kumaş from the Giresun Cooperative, Mr. Irfan Çakar from the Vakfikebir Cooperative and Mr. Kani Uygun from the Çamaş Cooperative.

Taking the floor after the election results, our Chairman of the Board Mr. Lütfi Bayraktar closed the general assembly with a speech of thanks addressed to the General Assembly.