Aegean Exporters' Associations Increase Exports to 103 Countries

Ege İhracatçı Birlikleri reached 216 different export markets in 2020, generating USD 13.004 billion in foreign exchange for Turkey. EİB, which increased exports to 103 countries, saw its largest growth in African countries with an 8.5% increase.

Jak Eskinazi, Coordinator Chairman of Ege İhracatçı Birlikleri, said that EİB maintained Germany in first place with USD 1.4 billion in 2020 exports, while the United States ranked second with USD 994 million.

"The United Kingdom, with which we recently signed an FTA placing bilateral trade relations on new legal ground, was our third largest export market in 2020 with USD 825 million. Italy with USD 736 million, Spain with USD 664 million, the Netherlands with USD 620 million, France with USD 550 million, Russia with USD 365 million, Israel with USD 330 million, and China with USD 294 million were among our top 10 export destinations in 2020. Notable increases in our exports by country groups were recorded in December.

In December, our exports to the European Union increased by 15%, to American countries by 34%, to Asian and Oceanian countries by 25%, to other European countries by 23%, to former Eastern Bloc countries by 17%, and to Free Zones by 38%."

Exports to RCEP countries increasing

Eskinazi noted that 2020 marked the beginning of a new era in global trade in every respect, emphasizing the importance of the RCEP agreement signed by 15 Asia-Pacific countries.

"Power balances and competition in the world are changing every day. We must find ways to adapt to developments to maintain and grow our current markets. We must determine our 2021 roadmap as soon as possible regarding what steps Turkey will take within the new trade blocs created by the RCEP agreement.

In December, our exports to RCEP countries showed increases to Thailand by 61%, to Laos by 71%, to Vietnam by 118%, to Malaysia by 476%, to Brunei by 244%, to Singapore by 57%, to the Philippines by 102%, to South Korea by 73%, to Japan by 48%, and to New Zealand by 24%. This upward trend is a sign that our trade with RCEP countries will increase further in 2021."

Europe's share in exports at 52.6%

Jak Eskinazi said, "Although we want to develop trade with Asia-Pacific countries, the EU will remain our largest trading partner. Our exports to the EU in December reached USD 520 million with a 15% increase. While our exports to 17 EU countries increased in December, the EU's share in EİB's total exports was recorded at 41%. For the entire year 2020, our exports to the EU totalled USD 5.8 billion.

In 2020, the EU's share in our exports was 45%, and Europe's share in our exports was 52.6%. In 2020, we succeeded in increasing exports to 14 EU countries. At the same time, in 2020 we sold USD 1.7 billion worth of products to Middle Eastern countries, USD 1.3 billion to American countries, USD 988 million to African countries, USD 986 million to other European countries, USD 941 million to Asian countries, USD 709 million to former Eastern Bloc countries, USD 240 million to Free Zones, and USD 186 million to Turkish Republics." he said.