TİM Continues Virtual Trade Delegation Program with Nigeria

The Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) continued its Virtual Trade Delegation programme, designed to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on exports, with Nigeria from 13-17 July. TİM Chairman İsmail Gülle said, "While growth in bilateral trade between the two countries is important, Nigeria's share of imports from Turkey still represents less than 1% of its total imports. Exporters' new target will be to meet rapidly growing demand in Nigeria and raise this share above 1%." Nigeria's Ambassador to Abuja Ahmet Melih Ulueren noted that there are significant opportunities for Turkish exporters in Nigeria's Agriculture and Healthcare sectors. [caption id="attachment_103059" align="aligncenter"] Virtual Trade Delegation[/caption] The Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM), the single-roof organisation for exports in Turkey with 61 exporter associations, 27 sectors and 95,000 exporters, is continuing its Virtual Trade Delegation Programmes as part of the action plans it has rolled out for exporters during the Covid-19 process. Under the coordination of the Ministry of Trade, TİM organised virtual trade delegations to Uzbekistan on 13-15 May, Kenya on 27-29 May, India on 15-25 June, and Nigeria on 13-17 July. Within the scope of the Nigeria Virtual Trade Delegation, in which representatives from many sectors including Cement, Iron-Steel, Iron and Non-Ferrous Products, Glass, Ceramics, Clay Products and Energy participated, 15 Turkish companies came together with approximately 90 Nigerian companies in an online setting and held 152 meetings. TİM Chairman İsmail Gülle noted that Nigeria, with a population of over 206 million, ranks as the 7th most populous country in the world and provided the following information regarding commercial relations between the two countries: "In 2019, Nigeria was the 4th country with the highest imports in Africa with USD 47.4 billion in imports. Last year, Nigeria imported USD 442 million from Turkey. Since 2001, we have seen Nigeria's imports from our country increase nearly 20-fold. In 2019, significant growth was recorded in Turkey's exports to Nigeria across many product categories. Turkey's exports of Mineral Fuel and Oil to Nigeria in 2019 increased 92-fold compared to the previous year, Toy exports increased 21-fold, Agricultural Machinery exports increased 3-fold, and Glass Products exports rose 127%."

Target: Securing more than 1% of Nigeria's imports

Noting that bilateral trade between Turkey and Nigeria stands at USD 1.8 billion, Gülle added, "Despite the effects of the global pandemic, growth was recorded in exports to Nigeria from 15 of our sectors over the first six months of the year. Among these sectors, Defence and Aviation, which increased exports nearly 5-fold compared to the same period of the previous year, Aquatic Products and Animal Derived Products, which increased 2.5-fold, and Cement, Glass and Ceramics sectors, which increased 77%, stand out. While growth in bilateral trade between the two countries is important, Nigeria's share of imports from Turkey still represents less than 1% of its total imports. Exporters' new target will be to meet rapidly growing demand in Nigeria and raise this share above 1%. With increasing exports in product groups within the scope of the Nigeria Virtual Trade Delegation, we primarily expect to achieve high growth rates in many other sectors such as Iron-Steel and Iron and Non-Ferrous Products. The accelerating demand growth in Nigeria in recent years shows there are significant opportunities for our exporting companies in this market."

Pakistan next for Virtual Trade Delegations

Stating that TİM will continue "New Generation Trade Diplomacy" activities in target markets with emphasis on digital transformation with 95,000 members of the export family, Gülle remarked: "As TİM, we worked with all our strength to ensure that trade did not halt during the pandemic period. In these days when we must observe social distance, we moved our work to the digital sphere and were pioneers of virtual trade delegations, virtual fairs and even the first virtual awards ceremony. While 251 foreign companies participated in the virtual trade delegations we organised to Uzbekistan, Kenya and India, 534 bilateral meetings were conducted. Our next destination will be Pakistan, which we will organise on 20-24 July with the participation of our Minister of Trade Ruhsar Pekcan and our Ambassador to Islamabad İhsan Mustafa Yurdakul. Following Pakistan, we will continue our delegations with Colombia-Mexico, Germany and Kazakhstan."

Significant opportunities in Agriculture and Healthcare sectors

Nigeria's Ambassador to Abuja Ahmet Melih Ulueren noted in his remarks that Turkey lags behind in imports compared to exports in bilateral trade relations with Nigeria, and highlighted significant opportunities in two areas in the country. Ulueren stated, "Nigeria stands out with its young population. Average age is 18.4. 41% of the population consists of children aged 0-15. Nigeria is experiencing Covid-19 much more lightly due to the effects of this young population. However, due to the pandemic, oil prices, which are among the most important export items, have fallen. They need to undertake efforts to diversify their economy. In addition to industry, they are considering making significant investments particularly in agriculture. I believe Turkey can also play a role in Nigeria's transformation. Furthermore, they have seen that healthcare sectors are not at good levels due to the pandemic. Consequently, I believe our initiatives in the healthcare sector will yield positive results. They will want to establish infrastructure in this regard. I believe Turkey will stand alongside Nigeria in this matter. At the same time, their imports in this area will also increase. There is significant potential for Turkey in this area. We want to provide exporters with every kind of opportunity and possibility in this area."