The Export Family Gathered in İzmir
The Türkiye Exporters Assembly (TİM) organized the first of its Regional Export Meetings in İzmir, with the aim of evaluating regional economic dynamics and increasing the share of exports.
Hosted by the Aegean Exporters' Associations (EİB), the inaugural event of the Regional Export Meetings took place in İzmir, bringing together TİM Chairman Mustafa Gültepe, TİM Board Members and delegates, EİB Coordinator Chairman Jak Eskinazi, Union Presidents, and representatives of exporting firms from İzmir.
In his opening speech, TİM Chairman Mustafa Gültepe emphasized that production and exports are the driving forces of the national economy. Expressing their aspiration to position Türkiye among the world's top 10 exporting countries, Gültepe stated, “We are shaping all our efforts, game plans, and strategies in line with this goal.”
“Considering Türkiye's potential and the strength of our exporters, we can achieve even more.”
Gültepe noted that they experienced the negative impacts of the global demand contraction in 2023 and faced serious competitiveness challenges in 2024, yet managed to close both years with positive growth. “In 2024, we achieved a 2.5% increase. Last year, we reached the highest annual export value of all time with $262 billion, raising our share in global exports to 1.08%. I must emphasize the significant contributions of sectors such as automotive, steel, and defense industries to this 2.5% increase. Among our 26 exporting sectors, 13 recorded growth, while the other 13 faced declines. Our service exports have shown a rapid upward trend in recent years, and we hope to exceed our targets again this year,” he said.
Highlighting that they started the year with an ambitious export target of $280 billion, Gültepe continued:
“We aim to increase our exports by approximately 7% this year. Considering Türkiye's potential and the strength of our exporters, we can achieve even more. However, geopolitical risks in our immediate region persist. The war in Ukraine has continued for three years, Israel's attacks in the south are ongoing, and although the civil war in Syria has ended, transitioning to a stable period will take time. We will closely monitor developments in these regions. One of our largest export markets, the U.S., will see Donald Trump taking office for a second term on January 20. All these developments will have positive or negative impacts on our exports in 2025. In addition to global conditions, we will closely follow domestic developments.”
“There is no issue with access to financing.”
Gültepe underlined the need for exchange rates and inflation to move in parallel in 2025 and called for the swift implementation of policies that support production and exports. He stressed that without such policies, sustainability in production and exports could be compromised. “Currently, there is no production inflation in Türkiye, but consumption inflation persists, and its effects are reflected in the production side. Recently, there were financing issues, but we have overcome most of them. There is no longer a problem in accessing financing; our biggest challenge now is high interest rates. At least, interest rate cuts have begun,” he remarked.
Emphasizing their commitment to enhancing exports, Gültepe added, “For this year and the next, we must focus more on free trade agreements in cooperation with ministries. As Europe is currently facing challenges, we must secure a greater share from South America, North America, and the Far East. To achieve our goal of increasing exports to $280 billion this year and then to $300 billion, we must maintain our position in the European market while expanding our presence in other regions.”
“We need to discuss regional minimum wages”
Speaking at the event, EİB Coordinator Chairman Jak Eskinazi pointed out that rising costs have made it difficult to compete with rivals.
He emphasized that the most evident consequence of this situation has been the historic increase in concordat applications and elaborated further:
“The decline in production, company closures, and an increase in concordat filings have risen. With the decrease in our exports, our capacity utilization rate has dropped from 84% to 77%. Two years ago, the apparel and textile sector provided employment for 1.2 million people; we estimate a loss of over 300,000 jobs. In the same period, the total job loss in the industrial sector reached 500,000. In other words, one out of every two industrial workers who left or became unemployed belonged to the textile and apparel sector. As you know, the minimum wage has been set at 22,104 TL. I believe we need to discuss the concept of a regional minimum wage. Compared to our competitors, our costs have increased by 40-50%, making us significantly more expensive,” he stated.
Following the opening speeches, the program continued with responses to questions from delegates, and the final session provided exporters with information on financing support opportunities.