Ford Otomotiv tops list of biggest exporting companies

ISTANBUL

The Türkiye Exporters’ Assembly has announced Türkiye’s largest exporting companies for 2023 with automaker Ford Otomotiv topping the list.

Another carmaker Toyota Otomotiv ranked second, followed by refiner STAR Rafineri. Türkiye Petrol Rafineleri and Kibar Dış Ticaret came fourth and fifth in the list, respectively, while drone maker Baykar ranked 10th.

The companies received the “Champions of Export” awards at a ceremony attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

In the service export category, Turkish Airlines claimed the top spot, followed by low-cost carrier Pegasus. Güneş Express, doing business as SunExpress, ranked third and the operator of Istanbul Airport İGA was the fourth largest service exporting company.

Trendyol was the biggest e-export company, followed by LC Waikiki and Modanisa.

Türkiye’s goods and service exports amounted to $255.4 billion and $101.7 billion, respectively, in 2023, when the global trade contracted by $1.1 trillion, said Mustafa Gültepe, the president of TİM.

The share of Türkiye in global trade increased to 1.08 percent, while its share in services exports was 1.29 percent last year, Gültepe added.

Türkiye has set itself the target of generating $375 billion in goods exports and $200 billion in services exports in 2028, according to the TİM president.

Gültepe, however, warned that the competitiveness of Turkish exporters has weakened over the past one and a half years.

“Our production costs are 30 to 50 percent higher than our Asian competitors. This impacts our export performance, we have lost some of our export markets,” he said.

When a monthly average of $23.5 billion in exports is reached in 2024 and $25 billion in exports in 2025, Türkiye will have achieved its targets in the medium-term program, said Trade Minister Ömer Bolat, speaking at the ceremony.