Turkey, Italy bilateral trade ‘to exceed $20 bln’ in 2021

ISTANBUL

The bilateral trade between Turkey and Italy will record an all-time high in 2021, exceeding $20 billion, a prominent Italian businessman has said.

“We would like to thank some of the people who have come to the fore this year in Turkey-Italy relations, and by showing them as examples, we would like to increase the interest in Turkey from Italy and appeal to more investors,” Livio Manzini, President of the Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said during his speech at the Investor Award Ceremony in Bilateral Commercial Relations on Dec. 9.

“At the same time, we aim to increase the interest of Turkish companies in Italy,” he added.

“By the end of the year, we will exceed $20 billion in total trade between Italy and Turkey and the data we have show that we will have had the year with the highest trade. This shows a very balanced trade, it also shows how intertwined and how deep the relations between Italian-Turkish companies are.”

Massimo Gaiani, the Italian ambassador to Ankara, thanked the members of the business chamber for their efforts to enhance bilateral relations between the two countries.

“Our relations are strong thanks to the efforts of the businesspeople in the city and the country. You are the actors. We can only guide you for your success,” he said.

Turkey’s Naturel Enerji and decorative surfaces company Gentaş were awarded for their contributions to Turkey-Italy ties.
Italian designer Pininfarina, which designed Turkish electric car manufacturer TOGG’s SUV prototypes and the control tower of Istanbul Airport, was also honored.

Turkey’s exports to Italy soared 40.6 percent in November to reach an all-time high of $1.04 billion, according to data from the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TİM).

With this figure, Italy was Turkey’s fourth largest export market after Germany ($1.62 billion), the United Kingdom ($1.43 billion) and the United States ($1.19 billion).

The automotive sector took the lion’s share in Turkish exports to Italy. Auto exports from Turkey to Italy hit $181.4 million in November.

The steel industry ($161.3 million), textile and raw materials ($98.5 million), ferrous and non-ferrous metals ($90 million) and hazelnut products ($85.8) followed the automotive sector in terms of Turkish exports to Italy.

Goods were shipped to Italy from 62 of the 81 provinces of Turkey last month as Istanbul led others with $380.3 million.
Istanbul was followed by the northwestern industrial provinces of Bursa ($78.8 million) and Kocaeli ($66.8 million), the Aegean province of İzmir ($65.7 million) and the Black Sea province of Trabzon ($56.8 million). Overall, Turkish exports reached an all-time high with $21.5 billion in November.

Turkey’s exports hit $221 billion in the last 12 months, while the figure reached $203.1 billion in the first 11 months of this year. The figures show that exports revenue overpassed the pre-pandemic level.