Bulgarian firms turning to Türkiye amid supply chain problems

ISTANBUL

Bulgarian companies see Türkiye as a way out of the supply chain problems that occurred after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic severed the flow of goods from the Far Eastern countries to Bulgaria, which is now seeking to overcome this issue by cooperating with Turkish companies.

Recently, the “Bulgaria Sourcing from Türkiye” meeting was held, coordinated by the Turkish Trade Ministry and the Istanbul Exporters’ Association, to bring Bulgarian and Turkish companies together.

“There are 2,200 Turkish companies operating in Bulgaria, employing 50,000 people,” said Burhan Nemmutlu, president of the Bulgarian-Turkish Chamber of Commerce (BULTİŞAD), noting that more of such gatherings will be organized.

The size of the bilateral trade volume reached $6.5 billion last year, with Türkiye’s exports to Bulgaria amounting to $4 billion, according to Zeki Sarıbekir, president of the Türkiye-Bulgaria Business Council at the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK).

The trade volume between the two countries, which grew 22 percent on an annual basis in the first nine months of 2022, is expected to hit $8 billion at the end of the year, he added.

“The target of having a trade volume of $10 billion could be met in two years.”

Sarıbekir noted that 2 million trucks deliver goods to Europe via Bulgaria each year.

There is huge trade potential between the two countries, but this potential is not fully exploited, said Boyko Takov, executive director at Bulgarian small and medium-sized companies (SME) promotion agency, calling on Turkish firms to attend a business forum to be held in Burgas in February.