Turkish Cypriots spend less over the Green Line in 2011

Turkish Cypriots spent less over the UN-monitored Green Line in 2011 than in 2010, according to data from JCC Payment Systems.
Plastic card spending by “Turkish credit cards” (cards issued by Turkish banks) in the south fell by 7.8% to EUR 17.14 mln, from EUR 18.59 mln in 2010.
However, this was still much larger than the EUR 5.2 mln spent by Greek Cypriots in the north.
One of the biggest drops was in supermarket spending, which was down 12.4% to EUR 3.64 mln.
The contrasted with an overall increase in supermarket sales in the south. Retail sales in non-specialised stores selling food, drink and tobacco, which include supermarkets, rose in the first nine months of the year by 9% compared with the same period of 2010.
Supermarket sales remained the top seller, however, followed by “other retailers” with EUR 3.13 mln, clothing (EUR 3.08 mln), DIY and household stores (EUR 2.41 mln) and department stores (EUR 1.30 mln).

Fiona Mullen
www.sapientaeconomics.com