Turkish exports to Central and Eastern Europe up 20 percent
Posted by meb at November 18th, 2008
Parallel to exponential growth in the last decade in Turkey’s trade volume with other regions, the trade volume between Turkey and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) countries has also experienced an upward trend, signaling a boost in the confidence of trading partners vis-à-vis economic cooperation with Turkey.
To boost the trade with this region, the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON), the largest business interest group in Turkey, made a call to trading partners in CEE region and convened representatives from 16 countries in İstanbul — Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia. TUSKON officials believe the forum will serve the interest of business communities in this region and hope it will defy the contraction of markets in the region due to global economic slowdown. Trade numbers between Turkey and the CEE region indicate there is much room for improvement and potential for investors across the border.
The latest data released by the Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat) show that export to 16 CEE countries grew by 20 percent in the first nine months of 2008 over the same period of last year. The total export volume increased to $12.1 billion in the January-September period this year, while it was $9.8 billion in the same period of 2007. In overall export volume of Turkey, which was 105.3 billion in the first nine months, this region absorbed 11 percent of Turkish goods — an increase of close to 6 percent compared to the same period in 2007.
In the same period, the highest volume of exports for Turkey in the region was to Romania, with over $3 billion, followed by Greece ($1.9 billion), Bulgaria ($1.7 billion) and Poland ($1.2 billion). In terms of percent, the most dramatic jump occurred in Montenegro with a 178 percent increase in the first nine months of 2008 over the same period of 2007. Newly independent Kosovo came in second with a 151 percent increase in importing Turkish goods. All 16 countries bar Croatia have recorded positive increases in importing Turkish products.
On the import front, Turkey maintains a positive trade volume with the CEE region. In the first nine months of this year, Turkey imported $10.4 billion worth of goods, resulting in close to a $2 billion surplus with the region. Data from the same period indicate that the import figures increased by 9.4 percent, from $9.5 billion to $10.4 billon. According to statistics, Turkey imported most from Romania with $3.03 billion in the first nine months. Other countries exporting significant amounts to Turkey include Poland ($1.6 billion), Bulgaria ($1.5 billion), the Czech Republic ($1.1 billion) and Hungary ($1 billion).
source: Today’s Zaman
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