Firms in quake-hit areas hoping to boost their exports

GAZİANTEP

Companies operating in the provinces affected by the devastating earthquakes in February 2023 have high hopes about restoring their export levels to what they were before the quake.

They had set the target for 2023 at $12 billion, said Adnan Ünverdi, the president of the Chamber of Industry in the province of Gaziantep, which was among the provinces affected by the disaster.

This target could not be met in that year as the earthquakes hindered economic activity, he added.

The aim is to generate $12 billion in export revenues in 2024, according to Ünverdi.

The effects of the earthquakes are still continuing, he said, however, voicing confidence that they could boost their exports.

“We are focusing on the countries, especially African nations, which we had not exported our products before,” Ünderdi added.

They are presently shipping goods to more than 180 countries and exports in the first six months of 2024 increased compared with the same period of last year, according to Ünverdi.

Their main export markets are Iraq, the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Italy, Germany and the U.K., he explained.

Trade especially with Iraq has been booming after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited this country, he said, adding that they recently met with the Iraqi Commercial Attaché to discuss how to give a further boost to bilateral ties.

They will organize a food fair in Gaziantep in May next year and they are expecting companies from Iraq, Libya, Saudi Arabia and other countries to attend the event, according to Ünverdi.

Exports from Gaziantep rose by 7.9 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2024 to $4.5 billion, according to the numbers of the Trade Ministry. In June alone, however, exports plunged 17 percent annually to $586 million. Türkiye’s overall exports last month declined due to a long national holiday.

In June, the country’s export revenues amounted to $18.6 billion, marking a 10.6 percent decline from a year earlier.

In the first six months of 2024, Türkiye’s export revenues increased by 2 percent to $125.5 billion.

Data from the Southeast Anatolian Exporters’ Association (GAİB) show that companies based in this region shipped goods to 194 countries and free zones in January-June this year.

Their export revenues increased from $5.3 billion in the first half of 2023 to $5.53 billion in the same period of 2024.

Companies based in the southeastern provinces generated $12.33 billion in export revenues, shipping mostly textile and raw materials, cereals, pulses, dried fruits and dried fruit products to foreign markets.

Exports amounted to $11.7 billion in 2023 when the deadly twin earthquakes hit those provinces.