Exports Continue to Be the Dynamo of Our Economy
Exports are not merely a commercial activity; they are the strongest asset in our nation's journey toward development. As we always emphasize: “Türkiye Will Rise with Exports.” Indeed, this is precisely what is happening. In the third quarter, Türkiye's economy grew by 2.1%, with net exports contributing 2.2 percentage points to this growth. However, unfortunately, last month, we fell short of our desired figures. November concluded with exports totaling $22.3 billion, a 3.1% decrease compared to the previous year. Cumulatively, we reached $238.5 billion in exports over 11 months. Meanwhile, our service exports for the first nine months rose by 7.4% to $86.4 billion. With the additional $20.5 billion in service exports achieved during October and November, we expect to surpass $107 billion in service exports over the first 11 months.
Yes, we are 2.5% ahead in exports for the 11-month period. Of course, we had hoped for much more. However, the sluggish demand in global markets, particularly in Europe, adversely affected us. Yet, the fundamental issue lies in losing our competitive edge. If we had been able to preserve our competitiveness, we would be discussing entirely different figures today. We remain hopeful that by 2025, the current challenges will be overcome. If the obstacles hindering our progress are removed, we can confidently pursue our target of $280 billion in exports in 2025.
In such critical times, seeking dialogue and collective wisdom becomes all the more significant. As the umbrella organization of the export community, we remain in constant communication with our sectors during this process. We actively listen to the demands, insights, and suggestions of our exporters and ensure follow-up. Acting as a bridge between our ministries and sectors, we conveyed the challenges, demands, and proposed solutions of our exporters to our Minister of Trade, Prof. Dr. Ömer Bolat, during the Delegates Meeting held at the beginning of November. Similarly, during our Expanded Presidents' Council Meetings, we shared the concerns and proposals of our sectors with our Minister of Labor and Social Security, Prof. Dr. Vedat Işıkhan, and our Minister of Industry and Technology, Mehmet Fatih Kacır. We trust that these matters will be evaluated and resolved promptly.
In this process, where we have recognized the importance of new collaborations for our national exports, we organized a trade delegation to Baghdad and Basra in mid-November with the participation of our Minister of Trade, Prof. Dr. Ömer Bolat. During these visits, we held highly productive discussions with our Iraqi counterparts. Together, we explored opportunities to build mutually beneficial “win-win” partnerships and initiated efforts to strengthen the role of our firms in Iraq. At the Türkiye-Iraq Economic and Trade Joint Committee (JETCO) meeting held in Istanbul, we once again convened with our Iraqi counterparts to explore further collaboration opportunities.
This year, Iraq has become the fourth-largest export market for Türkiye, with nearly one in ten of our exporters engaged in trade with the country. I firmly believe that the Development Road Project will strengthen the economic cooperation between our nations and expand our trade volume. Within this scope, fostering bilateral relations holds paramount importance. I hope that our delegation will mark a turning point for new collaborations.
In the coming year, we will continue to enhance our presence in existing markets while advancing strategies to expand into new ones.