Tag: Exports

Export by rail route to eliminate high costs

Turkey plans to activate its railway lines for exports, President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) Rıfat Hisarcıklıoğlu said at a press event in the northwestern province of Tekirdağ on Feb. 16.

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that exports from Anatolia to the West (Europe) through the land route carry a very high cost. “We will activate railways for exports. We have carried out work on this matter,” he said.

Products made by industrials in Anatolia will be carried on railway lines to Bandırma Port in the northwestern province of Balıkesir’s Bandırma district, after being gathered in settled centers through a company founded by the TOBB, he said. Ferryboats will then carry them to Tekirdağ Port, where they will depart for Europe. Hisarcıklıoğlu emphasized that Turkey’s largest and Europe’s third largest container port was located in Tekirdağ, which meant that a logistic village project should also be realized in the region.

Speaking at a different event in the western province of Aydın, the president noted that Turkey’s export volume had increased from $3 billion to $150 billion in the last 30 years. “Industrial products make up 92 percent of Turkey’s exports. Three out of every four white goods product and one out of every three televisions are made in Turkey,” he said. “While Turkey, which has made progress in industry, is getting close to its export target, the state should provide the same conditions to us [industrialists] that our rivals have,” he said.

Fight against bad checks

The TOBB and the Banks Association of Turkey will sign a protocol aimed at preventing bad checks, Hisarcıklıoğlu also revealed in Tekirdağ.

“A businessman will be able to make an application to the banks in order to find out the record of the one with whom he is trading,” he said, stressing that the main goal of this protocol was to protect the private sector from bad checks, which have seen a marked increase of late.

The number of bad checks jumped from 594,836 in 2012 to 904,750 last year, representing a 52 percent increase, according to data from the Central Bank.

“It was a matter that we had to intervene immediately in, and we will find a permanent solution after this step,” he said.

18 February 2013

Hürriyet Daily News

February 18, 2013
Turkey sweetens tax rules to increase auto export

(MENAFN) Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan has announced increasing tax breaks on investments in the automotive industry by the double, as the government targets USD75 billion in car exports by 2023, Reuters reported.

According to the minister, the government will offer tax breaks of up to 60 percent for new investments and incentives including deductions on employee costs.

Turkey is actively moving to boost its exports in a bid to cut its chronic current account deficit, caused largely by the fast-expanding economy’s high energy imports, which is leading to a trade deficit.

The current account deficit is a key factor that is holding Turkey back from securing a widely anticipated second investment grade rating.

The government is also targeting USD500 billion of total exports over the next ten years.

Last year, car sales in Turkey fell by 10 percent to 818,000 units, while exports dropped by 8 percent, hurt by weaker demand from Europe, which receives about 70 percent of its total auto exports.

Turkey’s auto industry has invested around USD7 billion in new projects, research and development and plant capacity expansions since the incentive scheme was launched in 2009.

via Turkey sweetens tax rules to increase auto export – MENAFN.

February 17, 2013
Turkey’s exports increase to record-high $151.9 bln in 2012

Turkey saw its largest export earnings in the history of the Turkish Republic with nearly $152 billion in 2012, Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Chaglayan said, Todays Zaman reported.

Chaglayan revealed the export figures on Wednesday during a press conference in the Turkish capital of Ankara. The exports rose by 12.6 percent to $151.9 billion in 2012 compared with the previous year, the minister said.

According to data provided by the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TIM), the country earned $11.8 million in exports in December 2012. TIM data also show that Germany, Iraq and England were the top three countries to import from Turkey in 2012 and the automotive sector saw the highest increase in exports.

via Turkey’s exports increase to record-high $151.9 bln in 2012 – Trend.Az.

January 3, 2013
Turkey’s exports to Iran reach $8.5b in 8 months

Turkey’s exports to Iran for the first eight months of 2012 totaled $8.5 billion, Turkish central bank governor has said.

Erdem Basci told the Financial Times that the income was due to large-scale Iranian purchases of gold. This level of exports to Iran is widely considered unsustainable due to U.S. misgivings and limits in Turkey’s stock of gold.

However, in August Turkey’s gold exports switched sharply to the UAE, with almost $2 billion in sales, making the country Turkey’s leading export destination for the month – a more than eightfold increase on the month before.

Basci said his expectations about Turkey’s growing trade with the Middle East excluded gold sales.

His remarks also signal Ankara’s growing confidence in its own economic management, after the country managed to bring growth down from unsustainable levels without a recession.

“We have shown the first successful example of doing that in Turkish history,” he said.

As a result, he said, Turkey’s $800 billion economy was a different case from other emerging markets, which have slowed in recent months.

He added that the extraordinary global liquidity unleashed to deal with the financial crisis enabled the country to run a current account deficit of 7 percent of GDP, although its longer term goal was to reduce the level to 5 percent.

He also emphasized his goal of bringing inflation down to 5 percent, compared to about 9 percent now, which he said would allow long term domestic capital markets to develop and diminish Turkish companies’ reliance on foreign lenders.

However, at a meeting on Wednesday launching the central bank’s inflation report, several analysts questioned the bank’s ability to reach its inflation goals in a growing economy.

In a note titled “Wishful thinking or what?”, Burcu Unuvar of Is Investment noted that the bank on Wednesday revised its inflation expectation this year to 7.4 percent, up from 6.2 percent, owing to higher than expected energy prices, while it forecast only a “mild recovery” in domestic demand for the last quarter of the year.

She described the bank as “aggressively hopeful” in its inflation and growth expectations for next year.

(Source: Financial Times)

via Turkey’s exports to Iran reach $8.5b in 8 months – Tehran Times.

October 27, 2012
Ghana – Turkey trade volume double

By Lawrence Quartey

Trade volume between Ghana and Turkey more than doubled to US$448 million in 2011 from US$175 million the previous year.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul hosted a Turkish trade fair in Ghana/Photo/Reuters

The volume is targeted to reach US1 billion by 2015 thanks to recent efforts by the two countries to strengthen economic and trade ties.

This came up on Wednesday when Kenan Tepedelen, the outgoing Turkish Ambassador to Ghana bade farewell to the country’s president, John Evans Atta Mills at the Castle (seat of Government) in Accra.

Tepedelen came to Ghana in May 2010.

Diplomatic relations between the two nations, which began after Ghana gained independence in 1957, saw a dip in 1991, when Turkey closed its embassy in the West African nation citing economic reasons.

However, both nations made efforts to renew and strengthen their ties, and Ankara re-opened its embassy in Accra, and followed it with the posting of a substantive ambassador.

Meanwhile, Turkish President Abdullah Gul has hosted a Turkish trade fair in Ghana and facilitated medical teams on visit to Ghana.

Gul and his Ghanaian counterpart signed bilateral agreements in the areas of Air Services, Health and Medical Sciences, Military Training and Science, mutual abolition of visas for holders of diplomatic passports and Memorandum of Understanding for the establishment of consultations on political mechanism.

He visited Ghana last March, leading a 150-member delegation, made up of business people and investors, legislators and academicians on a three-day African tour.

Analysts say Turkey plans to double exports to Africa from the current $10 billion level by virtue of a new wave of diplomatic lobbying, which is expected to see that country strengthening its strategic partnerships on the African continent.

via Ghana – Turkey trade volume double [50178966] | African news, analysis and opinion – The Africa Report.com.

January 12, 2012
Turkey breaks historic record as exports reach $134 billion

Speaking at a conference hosted by the Ankara Chamber of Commerce in Ankara, Çağlayan said Turkey had reached the highest level of exports in its history as of Thursday. (Photo: AA)

08 December 2011, Thursday / TODAY’S ZAMAN, ANKARA

Turkey’s exports have reached $133.97 billion in the past 12 months, indicating that the country has now broken a new record with the highest level of exports in the history of the republic, Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan said at a meeting in Ankara on Thursday.

Turkey sold $114 billion worth of goods to overseas markets last year. It witnessed a record in export volume in 2008 with $132 billion, but saw the same figure plunge below $100 billion the following year due to the 2009 global financial crisis. Observers argued this year’s exports data could mean a new record and that the latest figures are proof of this. The country aims to reach $500 billion in exports by 2023, the centennial of the foundation of the republic.

Speaking at a conference hosted by the Ankara Chamber of Commerce (ATO) in Ankara, Çağlayan said Turkey reached the highest level of exports in its history as of Thursday, adding that the country is poised to maintain this performance. “This is a success which many could not even dream of … but we are here to work harder, and even exceed these figures in exports,” he stressed.

Underlining that the government has intensified efforts to diversify export markets, Çağlayan said the government will increase the number of trade offices abroad to 250, currently at 109. The minister also said these offices will work to help attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) to Turkey than in the past. “Our trade representatives in Europe tell us that investors, particularly from the UK, Italy and France, are interested in new investments in Turkey,” he explained.

Making mention of improvements in attracting foreign investment in Turkey, the minister recalled that Turkey received $10.9 billion in FDI in the first nine months of this year, more than twice the amount for the same period a year ago. “One important fact was that 87 percent of international capital inflows to Turkey in the given period were from financially troubled EU countries. … Turkey maintained its appeal to European investors despite the ongoing crisis,” he said.

Çağlayan cited political stability in the country as the driving factor behind Turkey’s economic success and growth. Regarding the EU crisis, he said the government expected EU leaders to reach a healthy solution at today’s summit in Brussels before the troubled eurozone could maintain a speedy recovery. As regards an International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimate of a 2.5 percent growth rate for the Turkish economy in 2012, the minister said the government believes the IMF will revise this figure following positive developments in the economy.

With reference to ongoing political instability in Syria, Çağlayan called on the Syrian government to reconsider an earlier decision to suspend a free trade agreement with Turkey. “Syria is facing economic difficulties every month due to sanctions, particularly on oil,” Çağlayan said, adding that “it is not a wise move” for Syria to also place obstacles before Turkish trucks entering the country. “We are looking for new trade routes bypassing Damascus and negotiations are under way with Egypt, Lebanon and Iraq to this end. … We will launch a ro-ro service from the Port of Mersin to Beirut and Alexandria in a few days,” he added.

via Turkey breaks historic record as exports reach $134 billion.

December 9, 2011