Ministry aims to increase exports to 'distant countries' to $80 bln

ANKARA

As part of its “distant countries strategy,” the Trade Ministry has put 18 nations, including China, Australia, Brazil and Japan, on its radar, aiming to increase Türkiye’s exports to those countries to more than $80 billion.

The ministry noted that last year Türkiye’s export revenues amounted to $139.7 billion and that some 55 percent of exports went to European nations and another 18 percent was destined to the Near and Middle Eastern countries.

Work is underway to implement the distant counties strategy in a more effective and dynamic way, the ministry said in a statement, noting that there is a need to diversify Türkiye’s export markets at a time when the global economy and trade face challenges.

“Weak global growth is impacting our largest export markets. Particularly in Europe, monetary tightening, coupling with inflation, lower production and weak labor market causes concern for recession,” the statement explained.

The distant countries strategy aims to increase Türkiye’s exports to those 18 countries by four times to more than $80 billion and capture a 1 percent share in their imports, the ministry said, noting that those countries account for 64 percent of the global economy.

Those 18 countries include the U.S., Australia, Brazil, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Africa, South Korea, India, Japan, Canada, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Chile, Thailand and Vietnam.

Works are being launched to bring into action the strategy, which serves as a guide for exporters, the ministry said.

As part of those efforts under the distant countries strategy, a total of 32 delegations will travel to foreign countries, while companies will attend nearly 120 trade fairs abroad by the end of the year, according to the ministry.

The latest numbers from the Trade Ministry showed that the Americas’ share - North America, South America and the Caribbeans - in Türkiye’s exports was 8.7 percent in January-August, while the combined share of Australia and New Zealand was 0.4 percent.

The country’s exports amounted to $165 billion in the first eight months of 2023, marking a 0.4 percent decline from a year ago.