TİM Announces Provisional Foreign Trade Data for July

The Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM), with the participation of Commerce Minister Ruhsar Pekcan, announced provisional foreign trade data for July at the fourth regional assembly of TİM's open communication platform, the "TİM Aegean Assembly," held in Izmir.

In July, exporters set a record in the history of the Republic, achieving exports of USD 15 billion 958 million, a 8.3 percent increase compared to the same month of the previous year according to the General Trade System (GTS). According to the Special Trade System (ÖTS), exports reached USD 15 billion 238 million, a 8.5 percent increase. In the first 7 months of the year, exports reached USD 104 billion with a 3.1 percent increase, while trailing twelve-month exports reached USD 180 billion, bringing the country closer to the 2019 New Economic Program target. TİM Chairman İsmail Gülle: "With more than 83,000 exporters, we continue to wave our country's flag across the world. I congratulate all our exporting companies for these achievements. God willing, we will announce many more records in the months to come. One of the most important indicators of this is the Central Bank's three-month export order expectation index. The positive trend of the index is the most important indicator that our exports will achieve significant leaps and records in the coming months." he said.

Stating that this year's target under the New Economic Program is USD 182 billion, Gülle said: "Increasing our exports to the 2023 Development Plan target of USD 226.6 billion and exceeding it is among our most important priorities.

Without doubt, our 2023 export target is a goal we can naturally reach through the performance we have demonstrated in 223 countries. We are fully confident that through the strategies and sectoral road maps we will implement, we will take this figure even further." he expressed his views. TİM Chairman Gülle, commenting on the details of July exports: "In July, our exporters managed to wave our country's flag in 223 countries and regions. While our exports increased to 135 of these countries, in 108 countries the increase exceeded 10 percent, and in exactly 54 countries it exceeded 50 percent. The top 3 countries where we achieved the most exports were Germany with USD 1.4 billion, the United Kingdom with USD 1.1 billion, and Iraq with USD 767 million. Exports to 9 countries reached their highest monthly export figures in July. Among these countries are EU countries such as France and the Netherlands. The European Union, our largest market, accounted for 48.8 percent of our exports in July.

The leading export sector was Automotive, which increased its exports by 5 percent to reach USD 2.9 billion. The Chemicals sector, which reached USD 1 billion 734 million with a 17.7 percent increase, ranked second, and the Ready-made Clothing and Apparel sector, which reached USD 1 billion 679 million with a 6.2 percent increase, ranked third.

The sectors with the highest export increases were Jewelry with a 96.2 percent increase, Fresh Fruits and Vegetables with a 26.5 percent increase, and Cement Glass Ceramic and Earth Products with a 23.5 percent increase. TİM Chairman Gülle disclosed the following data regarding Izmir province, where the assembly's fourth meeting was held: "When looking at market diversity, we see that exports to 193 of the 228 countries and regions to which Turkey exports are made from Izmir. This is the greatest indicator of the province's significant success in market diversification. As a result of this success, the province has reached exports of USD 10.2 billion as of 2018. Today it ranks as the third province with the most exports after Istanbul and Bursa. When we look at exports by technology classes, the ratio of Izmir province's high-technology product exports to total exports was 1.3 percent, while the same ratio for medium-high technology was realized at 29.3 percent." he said. Expressing readiness to provide exporters with information about potential markets so that Izmir can gain a larger share of global trade, TİM Chairman stated, "As TİM, together with our Exporters Union, we are here to stand by you in these processes, to preserve the brand value of our country and products, and to contribute to the development of new products. Whether it is capacity, education, or infrastructure, let us work to attract new investments to our region by focusing on capacity, education, and infrastructure." he said.