TURQUALITY® will put Turkey in the world market
Posted by meb at January 20th, 2007
The Turkish state minister says the Italians have been very successful in branding, something he hopes to emulate as he emphasizes the importance of creating global Turkish brands in order for Turkey to export its high-quality and expensive products worldwide
ERDAL SAĞLAM – Ankara
www.turkishdailynews.com.tr
Despite increasing mutual trade between Turkey and Italy a significant potential still sits idle, says Turkish State Minister for Foreign Trade Kürşad Tüzmen, something the government hopes to rectify by encouraging Turkish businessmen to improve existing cooperation with Italians.
Last year Turkey participated in eight fairs organized in Italy, Tüzmen noted, adding, “We plan to join more fairs in 2007.” With the help of the TURQUALITY® project, a government scheme to support and promote Turkish brands internationally, Turkey hopes to further increase its profile abroad. As of November 2006, highway transportation vehicles worth $17 million were exported to Italy from Turkey. Other important goods exported are: textile raw materials, fruit and vegetables, clothing, iron and steel. In return Turkey imports mostly machinery and equipment, making Italy a significant provider of inputs and capital goods vital to Turkish industrialists.
With TURQUALITY® we’ll hit our export target:
According to Tüzmen, Chinese competition is giving the Turkish textile and ready-to-wear clothing sectors a hard time. However, China is also upping its imports as well as its exports. “For now, our exports to China are very slim,” the minister said. Nonetheless, Turkish exporters have significant opportunities to improve their exports to the rapidly growing Chinese consumer market.
Therefore, with their tremendous contribution to the growth of the Turkish economy, the textile and ready-to-wear clothing sectors should improve their production and marketing methods in line with changing world demands. “At this point,” said Tüzmen, “the most important thing for these sectors is to create fashion and brand names,” noting that Italians had been very successful in such branding. To create a brand and market it successfully to chain stores around the world is crucial, Tüzmen emphasized.
With the help of TURQUALITY®, Turkish goods have started to claim their rightful place in international markets. According to the minister, to increase Turkey’s brand value is of crucial importance, thus Turkey should aim for close cooperation with Italy, a country with top brand value. Mutual programs and joint projects with Italy will promote the value of Turkish goods around the world, Tüzmen stressed.
Italian capital flows into Turkey:
As it registers progress in its European Union accession bid, Turkey is attracting a great deal of direct foreign capital. Italy’s investments in Turkey recently grew significantly: In 1988, a total of 17 Italian companies had business interests in Turkey; this figure jumped to 422 in 2005. Though Italian businessmen are generally active in every sector, they stand out in the manufacturing industry.
Turkey will benefit from Italy’s experience in sustainable competition by small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) in international markets, Tüzmen noted. A watch committee formed as part of a protocol signed in 2004, to increase cooperation among SMEs and joint investments, holds regular meetings. Minister Tüzmen said: “Italian investments, which are most intense in the Aegean and Marmara regions, will naturally spread to the Southeastern Anatolian region, particularly Gaziantep, due to their proximity to the Middle East and Central Asian markets.”
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