Türkiye big growth boom waiting to happen: IIF’s Brooks

ISTANBUL

Türkiye is a big growth boom waiting to happen, said Robin Brooks, chief economist at the Institute of International Finance (IIF).

“Net exports, the difference between exports and imports, have been a positive growth driver for over a year, a sign just how competitive Türkiye’s export sector has become. All that’s needed is macro stability and Türkiye will boom!,” he wrote on Twitter.

Türkiye is one of the few emerging markets where exports boom, only Türkiye has consistently positive contributions, he added. “Better days are coming.”

In another tweet, Brooks commented on commodity prices, saying that “winners versus losers in the global commodity price shock. Biggest winners: Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Brazil. Biggest losers: Argentina, Chile and Colombia. The list of losers is deeply worrying. These are commodity exporters that should be doing well.”

Türkiye’s exports grew by 18.5 percent to stand at $23.4 billion in June, according to the preliminary data from the Trade Ministry.

Imports amounted to $31.6 billion in the month and the energy was the largest item at $8.1 billion in overall imports, said Trade Minister Mehmet Muş.

“Exports will remain the main driver of economic growth,” Muş said.

Excluding energy imports, the exports-to-imports coverage ratio was 93.4 percent last month.

In the first half of the year, the country’s export revenues grew 20 percent on an annual basis to hit $125.9 billion.

Türkiye’s economy grew by 7.3 percent in the first quarter of 2022 compared to January-March last year. The rate of growth in the first months of this year, however, eased from the 9.1 percent expansion recorded in the final quarter of 2021. Last year the Turkish economy grew 11 percent.