Exports decline 30 percent, incentives required
Posted by meb at October 2nd, 2009
Turkey does not have to sign a new loan deal with the International Monetary Fund, Mehmet Büyükekşi, president of the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly, tells reporters at a meeting to disclose Turkey’s September export figures. The country’s exports dropped 30.5 percent to nearly $8.39 billion for the year as of September, according to TİM data
Signing a new deal with the International Monetary Fund is not a must for Turkey’s recovery process, said Turkish Exporters’ Assembly, or TİM, President Mehmet Büyükekşi during a press conference held to announce the country’s export figures.
Turkey’s export figures dropped 30.53 percent to nearly $8.39 billion in September compared to the same period last year, Büyükekşi announced Thursday in Uşak, a city in the interior part of the Aegean region. The nine-month export total declined by 32.67 percent to $68.896 billion, Büyükekşi said. The country’s year-on-year export slipped 28.89 percent to $94.283 billion. However, the country’s exports increased 9.36 percent in September from a month earlier.
The automotive industry and its suppliers ranked first with exports worth $1.636 billion in September, Büyükekşi said. It was followed by the ready-wear industry, with $1.034 billion. Chemical materials and products ranked third with exports worth $846 million.
The agricultural sector, which netted $1.162 billion from its exports last month, had a 13.85 percent share in the country’s total exports. The industrial group, which gained $6.967 billion from exports, had 83.06 percent in Turkey’s aggregate exports. In the first nine months of the year, the industrial sector grabbed $58.04 billion. The exports of mining products totaled $260 million in September. The sector attained $1.745 billion in the first nine months of the year. Its year-on-year figure was $2.352 billion.
IMF not a must
Speaking on the ongoing talks with the International Monetary Fund, Büyükekşi said that he was against signing a deal that would not support production and exports. “We, as the assembly, support a relation that can increase Turkey’s credibility in the international arena, instead of a loan-based relation,” he said. “IMF support is not a must for this country. We expect to start our recovery process quickly, even without the IMF. We have to believe in ourselves.”
The TİM president also commented on the change in the role of the fund in line with the changing global circumstances. “The IMF and the World Bank will have a more regulating and balancing role in the new economic order. We will be able to shift to a balanced international system with emerging economies obtaining a more active role beside the developed countries,” he said, stressing the importance of Turkey in the new system.
Welcoming the interest-rate cuts by the Turkish Central Bank, he said that there was still much congestion in the loan market, urging improvement in the cooperation between the real sector and financial sector. Demanding support for exporters, he also urged Turkey’s exporters to have a louder voice in the markets. Maintaining their market share and grabbing rivals’ shares are keys to success in global markets, he said. “As the 2010 budget is prepared, it is crucial to provide $1 billion in support to our exporters,” he said, also underlining the importance of purchase support in other markets.
Expressing dissatisfaction with the government’s middle-term fiscal plan, Büyükekşi said that the export-increase projection in the plan was below the forecast of exporters. “Measures to help exports reach their growth target should definitely be a part of the program,” he said. Turkey’s target is to achieve $500 billion in 2023, he said. TİM is conducting necessary planning for a road map to reach this target, he added.
Describing Uşak’s performance in the country’s exports, Büyükekşi said that the city ranked 39th with $54 million in exports within the first eight months of the year. Textile together with ready-wear and apparel are the leading sectors among the city’s exports.
Speaking at the meeting, Hazim Sesli, chairman of the Turkish Confederation of Young Businessmen, or TÜGİK, said that Turkey was well prepared for any crisis with its experience in former crises. Turkish exporters have been going through a “commando training” since 1991, he said.
source: Hurriyet daily news
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