The Champions of the 357 Billion Dollar Exports Received Their Awards From President Erdoğan

TİM Chairman Mustafa Gültepe stated that they achieved a great success by realizing 255.4 billion dollars of goods and 101.7 billion dollars of service exports in 2023, a year when global trade contracted by 1.1 trillion dollars.

Mustafa Gültepe, emphasizing the need to increase exports by an average of 10% annually to reach their 2028 target of 575 billion dollars, said, “Our competitiveness has been weakening for the past 1.5 years. We are 30-50% more expensive than our Asian competitors in production costs. We have also become 20% more expensive than many countries in Europe. This situation has a negative impact on our exports.”

The Türkiye Exporters Assembly's (TİM) 31st General Assembly and the 'Export Champions' award ceremony were held in Istanbul with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Ministers. The awards were presented by President Erdoğan to the top 10 firms that contributed the most to the 255.4 billion dollars of goods and 101.7 billion dollars of service exports in 2023, as well as to the firm that ranked first in e-exports.

TİM Chairman Mustafa Gültepe said in his speech at the ceremony that they see exports as the locomotive and the outward-facing aspect of the Turkish economy. Reminding that they achieved 255.4 billion dollars of goods and 101.7 billion dollars of service exports in 2023, a difficult year such as when global trade contracted by 1.1 trillion dollars, Gültepe continued:

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 12 MONTHLY EXPORTS, WE SURPASSED THE 260 BILLION DOLLAR MARK

"We increased our share in global goods exports to 1.08% and in service exports to 1.29%. We managed to increase our exports by 4.5% in the first five months of this year. In May, we achieved our highest monthly export figure in history with 24.1 billion dollars. In the 12-month period, we surpassed the 260 billion dollar mark for the first time. Despite the difficulties we have faced, we do not find our successes sufficient. Because we want to bring Türkiye among the top 10 countries in exports. We see the 375 billion dollar goods and 200 billion dollar service export targets for 2028 as the first important test. For these targets, we must increase our exports by an average of 10% annually. The key word here is competitiveness. To reach the 375 billion dollar export target, we must be competitive to gain more share in existing markets and find new customers. However, our competitiveness has been weakening for the past 1.5 years. We are 30-50% more expensive than our Asian competitors in production costs. We have also become 20% more expensive than many countries in Europe. This situation has a negative impact on our exports. We have lost strength in some markets."

WE MUST INCREASE OUR VALUE-ADDED EXPORTS

Mustafa Gültepe emphasized the need to increase value-added exports through innovation, high technology, global brands, and green production capacity, alongside competitiveness. Highlighting the critical importance of compliance with the Green Deal, Gültepe continued:

“We believe that this issue should be approached with a holistic approach involving all stakeholders. All of our exporting sectors have completed their sustainability action plans. As TİM, we guide our companies in the transformation process. We are a solution partner in the Green Innovation Technology Mentorship Program, run by TÜBİTAK with the support of the World Bank.

We have introduced our GreenTİM Platform, where our companies can calculate their carbon footprint for free. Through the platform, our exporters will save 500 million dollars. Finance plays a critical role in green transformation. In this regard, we continue our work with Eximbank. We will complete our work soon and share the results with our companies. In addition to green transformation, financing is also needed for new investments. We, as İGE A.Ş., have been with our exporters in terms of finance since our establishment. We are nearing the end of the restructuring process of Türk Ticaret Bankası, which we brought into our export family last year. Our bank will start its operations by the end of the year. Improving the financing conditions and implementing new-generation incentive mechanisms are necessary to make the growth in exports sustainable.”

THE CENTRAL BANK'S DECISION REGARDING EXPORT PROCEEDS IS AN IMPORTANT STEP

Mustafa Gültepe also evaluated the reduction of the sale rate of export proceeds to the Central Bank from 40% to 30% as an important step. Gültepe added that within the framework of normalization steps, he believes that this practice will be completely abolished in the near future.

TOP 10 COMPANIES IN GOODS EXPORTS