Minister Muş Announced Foreign Trade Figures for January

Minister Muş announced the foreign trade figures for January at the press conference he held with the President of the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) İsmail Gülle at the Conference Hall of the Ministry of Commerce.

Stating that the momentum gained in exports last year continued this year as well, Muş said:

"Our exports amounted to 17.6 billion dollars with an increase of 17 percent compared to January of the previous year. This figure is the highest January export figure of all time. Our imports are 28 billion dollars as a result of the heaviest and unexpected winter conditions of the last years in January and the increases in energy prices. With these developments, our foreign trade volume increased by 38 percent compared to the previous year and reached 45.6 billion dollars in January."

Muş reported that in January, energy imports amounted to 9 billion dollars, and imports excluding energy amounted to 19 billion dollars in the same month.

Stating that the ratio of exports to imports in January, excluding energy, was recorded as 88.3 percent, Muş used the following expressions:

"In the light of all these data, as of the first month of the year, when compared to January of the previous year, our country has displayed a strong export performance. We have full confidence that this strong performance will continue in 2022 and that we will reach new records in exports. Our target is 250 billion dollars in 2022, as pointed out by our President. "Our goal is to catch up and pass the export target. Turkey will be a prosperous country that will achieve much better points in cooperation between the private sector and the public. We believe in this and I hope we will achieve this goal."

Pointing out that the recovery expectations in the global economy fell short this year, Muş said that the restrictions that came into force in many countries slowed down the commercial activities.

Stating that rising energy prices in international markets and disruptions in supply chains cause wider and longer-term inflation in many developing economies than expected, Muş said, "In the face of increasing difficulties in the global economy, our government and business world will join hands in 2022, as in the previous year. "Let no one doubt that we will achieve success by delivering said.

Emphasizing that the Turkish economy has confirmed its strength and potential with its production and export successes in 2022, Muş stated that exporters who keep their promises even in the harshest conditions of the Kovid-19 outbreak have proven to the whole world that they are reliable business partners.

Stating that Turkey has embraced new investments and new business models as a strong and reliable supplier, Muş continued as follows:

"Business people from different geographies of the world see our country as a safe harbor for investments and shift their important investments from logistics to banking, from finance and R&D to innovation. Our government is also trying to provide the support that our exporters and industrialists need and to contribute to their success in this period. It is taking all the necessary steps to take it to higher levels.”

- "Turkey has attracted the attention of many international investors"

Reminding that Turkey broke the record in the history of the Republic with an export of 225.4 billion dollars last year, Muş pointed out that 5.1 points of the 11.7 percent growth that emerged in the 3 quarters of 2021 with this performance came from net exports.

Expressing that a similar momentum is also seen in investments, Muş said:

"With its balanced growth performance and the structural reforms it has implemented, Turkey has managed to attract the attention of many international investors. Turkey has become the 9th most sought-after international direct investment destination across Europe with 160 projects in 2020, and its share in direct investments across Europe is due to the impact of Kovid-19. Despite its serious effects, it increased to 3.1 percent in 2020. In this sense, our route in the economy is clear: Investment, production, employment and export. The successes we have achieved in exports have also been an indication that we are taking firm steps forward on our route."

Mentioning the increases in the Economic Confidence and Industrial Production indices, Muş stated that new companies are included in the vision of "producing and exporting Turkey" every day.

Stating that more than 32 thousand companies started exporting last year and the number of exporters exceeded 101 thousand, Muş said, "The number of provinces that export more than 1 billion dollars increased from 5 to 21. In this way, we are getting stronger in our traditional export markets and opening up to new markets. Our exports are stronger and It has become more diverse.” said.

- "We provide R&D support to products with high branding potential"

Muş said that while exporters deliver Turkey's products to all corners of the world, the state uses all its means to give them the technical and financial support they need.

Stating that they continue to remove the obstacles in front of exporters with supports and country-based commercial activities,

Mus said:

"The Export Development Joint Stock Company, which we have heralded before, will go into operation next month and solve the problems of our exporters' access to finance and collateral. As the Ministry, we also carry out studies and develop strategies to prepare our exporters for the requirements of the era and, moreover, to create world brands from Turkish products. We provide incentives for companies with product groups with high branding potential and We provide R&D support."

Muş explained that they have implemented some measures to ensure a sustainable increase in service exports, and that they have expanded the scope of trade agreements with many countries to include service trade and investments.

Emphasizing that they plan to improve market entry conditions, increase transparency and predictability in service trade, Muş stated that they will implement various support mechanisms in the field of service trade and take steps towards many different service sectors in the coming period.

- "The tensions between the countries are fueling the current problems"

Referring to the recent political and geopolitical tensions, Muş said, "The tensions between the countries in our region are fueling the current problems, creating a more unstable economic outlook due to the raw material restrictions, especially in the energy sector. We know very well that the way to regional peace and prosperity is through the development of trade. " said.

Minister Muş emphasized that they will continue to work for the trade to contribute to regional and world peace in the coming period.

Mentioning the relations and commercial ties between Turkey and Ukraine, Muş stated that the trade between the two countries increased by 59 percent on an annual basis in 2021 and reached 7.4 billion dollars.

Noting that they took an important step to reach the 10 billion dollar trade volume target determined by the Presidents of the two countries, Muş said, "Tomorrow, I hope we will sign a New Generation Free Trade Agreement with Ukraine as the fruit of more than 10 years of negotiations." he said.