Turkey’s New Exports to the EU Skyrocket

The European Union is an important export market for Turkey. While the European Union was experiencing economic difficulties, Turkey's exports to the EU continued to increase by more than 20%.

Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) shared data on Turkey's exports to Europe. Exports increased by 20.8 percent in January-March 2022 and reached 60 billion 287 million dollars. The first quarter was quite productive for exporters. Thus, many sectors made great gains during this period. Turkey's exports to EU countries increased by 21% in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same period of 2021. Exports rose to $23 billion 780 million 323 thousand.

Rise in Automotive and Ready Wear Sectors

In the first quarter of 2022, the share of some sectors in exports to the EU countries came to the fore. These sectors were the automotive industry, ready-made clothing and apparel, chemicals, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, and steel. The share of these sectors in exports in the first quarter was 65%.

In this period, especially the automotive industry showed great success. Automotive industry exporters gained $4 billion 883 million 737 thousand from exports to the EU. Ready-to-wear exporters made an export of $3 billion 412 million 44 thousand.

Chairman of the Istanbul Ready-to-Wear Clothing and Apparel Exporters' Association (İHKİB), Mustafa Gültepe, evaluated textile exports. The chairman pointed out that exports to the EU had increased in the first quarter of this year.

“There is significant competition in the ready-made clothing industry around the world. In the past period, Turkey gained a significant advantage with the impact of the pandemic. Turkey's production capacity and power are also important factors in this. There were significant increases in exports to other countries, as well as to the EU. In value per kilogram, the EU is well above the general unit price. We expect this increase to continue throughout this year. Also, we expect the export value per kg to the EU to exceed 17 euros.”

Share of the EU Countries in Exports

The share of the EU countries in Turkey's exports was 39.44 percent in the first quarter. Moreover, Turkey made the most exports to Germany among the EU countries. Exports to this country reached a record level. 78 cities in Turkey exported to Germany. Thus, in the first quarter, exports to Germany increased by 16.13%. As a result, exporters earned $4 billion 888 million 408 thousand.

Unsurprisingly, Istanbul was the province that exported the most to Germany. The exports of companies located in Istanbul to Germany increased by 19% in this period. Thus, Istanbul’s exports to Germany leaped to $2 billion 202 million 240 thousand.

European Green Deal, Supply Chain, and Innovation

The EU is the biggest market for exporters this year. İsmail Gülle stated that they had started exporting to the EU quickly in 2022. "Turkey has many advantages in this regard. Product and sector diversity in industrial production, advanced sub-industry, flexible and fast production structure make the country stand out. Moreover, standards compliance with the EU, logistics services, high port, and transportation capacity, and advanced export financing make Turkey advantageous.

Furthermore, Turkey is a stable and reliable trade partner for the EU in the economic field. According to Gülle, the Green Deal, supply chain creation, and innovation will be the most significant topics in trade for the EU. “Innovativeness and innovation are essential for stability and prosperity. The EU will proceed through this formula. We must follow the same path. When we put these into action, I hope our exports to our biggest market, the EU, will increase even more.”

"This is a program we have implemented for the first time in Turkey. We started the first of the programs with our Marmara Region, which makes the largest contribution to our exports. We will implement our training program in the other 6 regions. Thus, we will contribute to the development of the sustainability ecosystem in exports. Moreover, we are carrying out studies within the scope of the TIM Sustainability Action Plan. In this context, we held a Green Transformation Oriented Access to Finance Meeting.”

The action plan has 12 main objectives. Among them, there are targets such as zero waste in exports, circularity, and advanced gain in the industry.

Historical Step with 1915 Çanakkale Bridge

İsmail Gülle reminded that their 2022 target was to reach 250 billion dollars of exports. Turkish exporters offer what is needed when global supply chains are disrupted. Chairman noted that Turkey stood out as a security blanket in global trade. With these features, Turkey promises lucrative commercial partnerships with the EU countries.

Gülle noted that the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge, which had opened last month, was a historic step. Bringing the exports of the Aegean and the Mediterranean regions to Europe is an important development. "With the 1915 March Çanakkale Bridge, our logistics competence will increase more. We will gain a significant advantage in exports to Europe.”