Türkiye Achieved Its Highest February Export Figure At 21.1 Billion Dollars

The automotive sector maintained its leading position among the top exporting sectors with 3.13 billion dollars. It was followed by chemicals at 2.6 billion dollars, and apparel at 1.5 billion dollars. The average unit value of exports in February was 1.43 dollars per kilogram.

Mustafa Gültepe, Chairman of the Türkiye Exporters Assembly (TİM): “We are now at a new level in the global economy. To prepare for the future, we are holding consultation meetings with all sectors. In these meetings, we discuss our 2028 targets, projects, and projections in all dimensions.”

Export, the driving force of the economy, completed February with a record following January. Türkiye achieved its highest-ever February export figure last month, totaling 21.1 billion dollars.

The February export data was announced by Trade Minister Ömer Bolat and TİM Chairman Mustafa Gültepe in Adıyaman.

Mustafa Gültepe reminded that 11 provinces, including Adıyaman, were rocked by two major earthquakes a year ago. Despite the fact that the wounds of the earthquakes have not been fully healed, significant progress has been made in a year, according to Gültepe. He said, "Despite the great destruction, our 11 provinces achieved exports of over 19 billion dollars last year. We see that our provinces in the disaster area have increased their total exports in the first two months of this year. Adıyaman also exceeded its February 2022 volume with an export of approximately 10 million dollars”. Gültepe also commented on Türkiye's February export performance:

20 OUT OF 27 SECTORS INCREASED THEIR EXPORTS IN FEBRUARY

"According to General Trade System (GTS) records, we completed February with an export of 21.1 billion dollars. Thus, we have reached the highest February export figure of all time. I think a comparison with February 2022 would be more realistic since we experienced a significant contraction in exports due to the earthquake. We are up by 6% compared to February 2022. Last month, 20 out of our 27 sectors increased their exports. In terms of sectors, automotive maintained its first place with 3.13 billion dollars. The other sectors in the top five were chemicals with 2.6 billion dollars, ready-made garments with 1.5 billion dollars, steel with 1.4 billion dollars, and electrical-electronics with 1.3 billion dollars. According to TİM data based on the headquarters of the companies, 64 out of 81 provinces managed to increase their exports. The top five provinces with the highest exports were Istanbul, Kocaeli, Bursa, Izmir, and Ankara. 1,388 of our companies made their first export. The countries to which we exported the most were Germany, the USA, Italy, Iraq, and the United Kingdom. We recorded significant increases in exports to the USA and Latin America. The positive impact of the euro/dollar parity on our exports continues. Last month, the parity difference contributed 63.5 million dollars to our exports. Our unit export value was 1.43 dollars."

WE ARE NOW AT A NEW LEVEL IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

Gültepe, evaluating the current developments, emphasized that Türkiye's economic growth of 4.5% in 2023 despite the slowdown in global economies is a great success. Pointing out that the national income has exceeded one trillion dollars for the first time, Gültepe continued his words:

"We are now at a new level. In order to be prepared for the future, we held consultation meetings with 21 sectors last month. By holding meetings with our other sectors next week, we will complete our consultation tour. In these meetings, we discuss our 2028 targets, projects, and projections in all aspects. We will compile the results into a report and share it with the relevant ministries. The contribution of exports to economic growth was limited last year. We know that this is due to the loss of competitiveness in some sectors and the contraction in external demand. However, machinery and equipment investments made a significant contribution to growth in 2023. We interpret their uninterrupted investments as a sign of more production and export in the coming period."

Gültepe stated that they need to take into account the demand movements and risks in markets as well as efforts to increase exports, and reported that they have prepared the TİM-Export Market Monitor (TİM-EMM) to facilitate the monitoring of global developments. Gültepe added that thanks to TİM-EMM, which is a first in Türkiye, companies will be able to follow all market developments in the fastest and most realistic way based on real data.